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Great  Pirate  Stories 


Edited  by 
JOSEPH  LEWIS  FRENCH 

Editor  of  "Great  Sea  Stories,"  "Masterpieces  of  Mystery, 
"Great  Ghost  Stories/'  etc. 


Two  Volumes 
IN  One 


TUDOR  PUBLISHING  CO. 

New  York 


First   Printing,  November,   1922 

Second  Printing,  January,   1923 

Third  Printing,  November,   1923 

Fourth  Printing,  November,  1929 


Printed  in  the  United  Stales  of  America 
Copyright,  1922,  by  Hrentano's 


Or  53^ 


r- 


i 


Go  tell  your  King,  he  is  King  of  the  Land; 
But  I  am  the  King  of  the  Sea ! 

Barbarossa  to  Charles  V. 


845203 


CONTENTS 


PAGE 


The  Plccaroon i 

From   Tom   Cringle's  Log.     By  Michael  Scott. 

The  Capture  of  Panama,  1671        .       .       .       .        23 

From   The  Buccaneers  of  America.     By  John  Es- 

QUEMELING. 

The  Malay  Proas 52 

From    Afloat    and   Ashore.      By   James    Fenimore 
Cooper. 

The   Wonderful   Fight   of   the   Exchange   of 

Bristol  with  the  Pirates  of  Algiers  ...        61     -— 

From   Purchas,  His   Pilgrims.     By   Samuel   Pur- 

CHAS. 

The  Daughter  of  the  Great  Mogul     ...        89 

From   The  King  of  the  Pirates.     By  Daniel  De- 
foe. 

Barbarossa — King  of  the  Corsairs     ...        97    -^ 

From  Sea   IVolves  of  the  Mediterranean.     By  E, 
Hamilton  Currey.  R.N. 

Morgan  at  Puerto  Bello 115 

From   The  Buccaneers  of  America.     By  John  Es- 
quemeling. 

The  Ways  of  the  Buccaneers 126 

From   Buccaneer   Customs   on   the   Spanish   Main. 
By  John   Masefield   after  John   Esquemeling. 

A  True  Account  of  Three  Notorious  Pirates      132 

From     The    Buccaneers     of    America.      Howard 
Pyle,  Ed. 

zi 


xii  coN'n«:NTs 


PAOB 


Narrative  of  the  Capture  of  the  Ship  Derby, 

nss 196 

By  ("ai'TAIn  Ansei.vi. 

Francis   Lolonois,   the  Shive  Who   Became   a 

Pirate  King 209 

From   T/if  Biirranrrrs   of  /Imrrira.     By  JoMS"   Es- 
QUEMELINf;. 

The  Fight  hetween  the  Dorr'ill  and  the  Moca      i-t^i 

From    The  Indian  Aniifjuary,  Vol.  49. 

Jaddi  the  Malay  Pirate 240 

From    The  Indian  /Inliquary,  \'ol.  49. 

The  Terrible  Ladrones 247 

From    The   Ladrone   Pirates.     By    Richard  Glass- 


POOLE. 


The  Female  Captive 276 

From    an   Old   Pamphlet,    piililished    in    1825.     By 
LucRETiA  Parker. 

The  Passing  of  Mogul  Mackenzie,  the  Last  of 

the  North  Atlantic  Pirates 298 

From  Blackixood's  Magazine.     By  Arthur   Hunt 
Chute. 

The  Last  of  the  Sea-Rovers:  The  Riff  Coast 

Pirates 312 

From   the   Nautical   Magazine.     By   \V.   B.   Lord. 


GREAT   PIRATE   STORIES 

THE  PICCAROON* 

Michael  Scott 
"Ours  the  wild  life  in  tumult  still  to  range." — The  Corsair. 

WE  returned  to   Carthagena,   to  be   at  hand 
should  any  opportunity  occur  for  Jamaica, 
and  were  lounging  about  one  forenoon  on 
the  fortifications,  looking  with  sickening  hearts  out 
to  seaward,  when  a  voice  struck  up  the  following 
negro  ditty  close  to  us: — 

"  Fader  was  a  Corramantee, 
Moder  was  a  Mingo, 
Black  picaniny  buccra  wantee, 

So  dem  sell  a  me,  Peter,  by  jingo. 
Jiggery,  jiggery,  jiggery." 

"Well  sung,  Massa  Bungo !"  exclaimed  Mr. 
Splinter;  "where  do  you  hail  from,  my  hearty?" 

"Hillo !  Bungo,  indeed !  free  and  easy  dat,  any- 
how. Who  you  yousef,  eh?" 

"Why,  Peter,"  continued  the  lieutenant,  "don't 
you  know  me?" 

*  From  Tom  Cringle's  Log. 

I 


2  CiRlLAT  PIKAT]-:  s'roRii-:s 

"Cannot  say  dat  I  do,"  rejoined  the  negro,  very 
gravely,  without  lifting  his  head,  as  he  sat  mend- 
ing his  jacket  in  one  of  the  embrasures  near  the 
water-gate  of  the  arsenal — "I  lab  not  de  honour  of 
your  acquaintance,  sir." 

He  then  resumed  his  scream,  for  song  it  could 
not  be  called  : — 

"  Mammy  Sally's  daughter 

Lose  him  shoe  in  an  old  canoe 
Dat  lay  half  full  of  water, 

And  den  she  knew  not  what  to  do. 
Jiggery,  jig " 

"Confound  your  jiggery,  jiggery,  sir!  But  I 
know  you  well  enough,  my  man;  and  you  can 
scarcely  have  forgotten  Lieutenant  Splinter  of  the 
Torch,  one  would  think?" 

However,  it  was  clear  that  the  poor  fellow  really 
had  not  known  us;  for  the  name  so  startled  him, 
that,  in  his  hurry  to  unlace  his  legs  from  under  him, 
as  he  sat  tailor-fashion,  he  fairly  capsized  out  of  his 
perch,  and  toppled  down  on  his  nose — a  feature, 
fortunately,  so  flattened  by  the  hand  of  nature,  that 
I  question  if  it  could  have  been  rendered  more  ob- 
tuse had  he  fallen  out  of  the  maintop  on  a  timber- 
head,  or  a  marine  officer's. 

"Eh! — no — yes,  him  sure  enough;  and  who  is  de 
picanlny  hofficer — Oh!  I  see,  Massa  Tom  Cringle? 
Garamighty,  gentlemen,  where  have  you  drop  from? 
Where  is  de  old  Torch?    Many  a  time  hab  I,  Peter 


THE  PICCAROON  3 

Mangrove,  pilot  to  Him  Britannic  Majesty  squad- 
ron, taken  de  old  brig  in  and  through  amongst  de 
keys  at  Port  Royal!" 

"Ay,  and  how  often  did  you  scour  her  copper 
against  the  coral  reefs,  Peter?" 

His  Majesty's  pilot  gave  a  knowing  look,  and  laid 
his  hand  on  his  breast — "No  more  of  dat  if  you 
love  me,  massa." 

"Well,  well,  it  don't  signify  now,  my  boy;  she 
will  never  give  you  that  trouble  again — foundered 
— all  hands  lost,  Peter,  but  the  two  you  see  before 
you." 

"Werry  sorry,  Massa  Plinter,  werry  sorry — 
What!  de  black  cook's-mate  and  all? — But  misfor- 
tune can't  be  help.  Stop  till  I  put  up  my  needle,  and 
I  will  take  a  turn  wid  you."  Here  he  drew  himself 
up  with  a  great  deal  of  absurd  gravity.  "Proper 
dat  British  hofficer  in  distress  should  assist  one 
anoder — we  shall  consult  togeder. — How  can  I 
serve  you?" 

"Why,  Peter,  if  you  could  help  us  to  a  passage  to 
Port  Royal,  it  would  be  serving  us  most  essentially. 
When  we  used  to  be  lying  there  a  week  seldom 
passed  without  one  of  the  squadron  arriving  from 
this;  but  here  have  we  been  for  more  than  a  month 
without  a  single  pennant  belonging  to  the  station 
having  looked  in :  our  money  is  running  short,  and 
if  we  are  to  hold  on  in  Carthagena  for  another  six 
weeks,  we  shall  not  have  a  shot  left  in  the  locker — 
not  a  copper  to  tinkle  on  a  tombstone." 


4  GRI'AT  PIRATE  STORIES 

The  negro  looked  steadfastly  at  us,  then  carefully 
around.     There  was  no  one  near. 

"You  see,  Massa  Plinter,  I  am  desirable  to  serve 
you,  for  one  little  reason  of  my  own;  but,  beside 
dat,  it  is  good  for  me  at  present  to  make  some 
friend  wid  de  hofficer  of  de  squadron,  being  as  how 
dat  I  am  absent  widout  leave." 

"Oh,  I  perceive — a  large  R  against  your  name  in 
the  master-attendant's  books,  eh?" 

"You  have  hit  it,  sir,  werry  close;  besides,  I  long 
mosh  to  return  to  my  poor  wife,  Nancy  Cator,  dat 
I  leave,  wagabone  dat  I  is,  just  about  to  be  confine." 

I  could  not  resist  putting  in  my  oar. 

"I  saw  Nancy  just  before  we  sailed,  Peter — fine 
child  that;  not  quite  so  black  as  you,  though." 

"Oh,  massa,"  said  Snowball,  grinning,  and  show- 
ing his  white  teeth,  "you  know  I  am  soch  a  terrible 
black  fellow — But  you  are  a  leetle  out  at  present, 
massa — I  meant,  about  to  be  confine  in  de  work- 
house for  stealing  de  admiral's  Muscovy  ducks;" 
and  he  laughed  loud  and  long. — "However,  if  you 
will  promise  dat  you  will  stand  my  friends,  I  will 
put  you  in  de  way  of  getting  a  shove  across  to  de 
east  end  of  Jamaica;  and  I  will  go  wid  you  too,  for 
company." 

"Thank  you,"  rejoined  Mr.  Splinter;  "but  how 
do  you  mean  to  manage  this?  There  is  no  Kings- 
ton trader  here  at  present,  and  you  don't  mean  to 
make  a  start  of  it  in  an  open  boat,  do  you?" 

"No,  sir,  I  don't;  but  in  de  first  place — as  you  are 


THE  PICCAROON  5 

a  gentleman,  will  you  try  and  get  me  off  when  we 
get  to  Jamaica?  Secondly,  will  you  promise  dat 
you  will  not  seek,  to  know  more  of  de  vessel  you 
may  go  in,  nor  of  her  crew,  than  dey  are  willing  to 
tell  you,  provided  you  are  landed  safe?" 

"Why,  Peter,  I  scarcely  think  you  would  deceive 
us,  for  you  know  I  saved  your  bacon  in  that  awk- 
ward    affair,     when     through     drunkenness     you 

plumped  the  Torch  ashore,  so " 

"Forget  dat,  sir — forget  dat!  Never  shall  poor 
black  pilot  forget  how  you  saved  him  from  being 
seized  up,  when  de  gratings,  boatswain's  mates,  and 
all,  were  ready  at  de  gangway — never  shall  poor 
black  rascal  forget  dat." 

"Indeed,  I  do  not  think  you  would  wittingly  be- 
tray us  into  trouble,  Peter;  and  as  I  guess  you  mean 
one  of  the  forced  traders,  we  will  venture  in  her, 
rather  than  kick  about  here  any  longer,  and  pay  a 
moderate  sum  for  our  passage." 

"Den  wait  here  five  minute" — and  so  saying,  he 
slipped  down  through  the  embrasure  into  a  canoe 
that  lay  beneath,  and  in  a  trice  we  saw  him  jump  on 
board  of  a  long  low  nondescript  kind  of  craft  that 
lay  moored  within  pistol-shot  of  the  walls. 

She  was  a  large  shallow  vessel,  coppered  to  the 
bends,  of  great  breadth  of  beam,  with  bright  sides, 
like  an  American,  so  painted  as  to  give  her  a  clumsy 
mercantile  sheen  externally,  but  there  were  many 
things  that  belied  this  to  a  nautical  eye :  her  copper, 
for  instance,  was  bright  as  burnished  gold  on  her 


6  r.Ri:Ar  pirate  stories 

very  sharp  hows  and  hcautiful  run;  and  we  could 
sec,  from  the  hastion  where  wc  stood,  that  her  decks 
were  flush  and  level.  She  had  no  cannon  mounted 
that  were  visihle;  hut  we  distinguished  grooves  on 
her  well-scrubbed  decks,  as  from  the  recent  travers- 
ing of  carronade  slides,  while  the  bolts  and  rings  in 
her  high  and  solid  bulwarks  shone  clear  and  bright 
in  the  ardent  noontide.  There  was  a  tarpauling 
stretched  over  a  quantity  of  rubbish,  old  sails,  old 
junk,  and  hencoops,  rather  ostentatiously  piled  up 
forward,  which  we  conjectured  might  conceal  a  long 
gun. 

She  was  a  very  taught-rigged  hermaphrodite,  or 
brig  forward  and  schooner  aft.  Her  foremast  and 
bowsprit  were  immensely  strong  and  heavy,  and  her 
mainmast  was  so  long  and  tapering,  that  the  won- 
der was  how  the  few  shrouds  and  stays  about  it 
could  support  it;  it  was  the  handsomest  stick  we  had 
ever  seen.  Her  upper  spars  were  on  the  same  scale, 
tapering  away  through  topmast,  topgallant-mast, 
royal  and  skysail-masts,  until  they  fined  away  into 
slender  wands.  The  sails,  that  were  loose  to  dry, 
were  old,  and  patched,  and  evidently  displayed  to 
cloak  the  character  of  the  vessel  by  an  ostentatious 
show  of  their  unserviceable  condition;  but  her  rig- 
ging was  beautifully  fitted,  every  rope  lying  in  the 
chafe  of  another  being  carefully  served  with  hide. 
There  were  several  large  bushy-whiskered  fellows 
lounging  about  the  deck,  with  their  hair  gathered 
into  dirty  net-bags,  like  the  fishermen  of  Barcelona; 


THE  PICCAROON  7 

many  had  red  silk  sashes  round  their  waists,  through 
which  were  stuck  their  long  knives,  in  shark-skin 
sheaths.  Their  numbers  were  not  so  great  as  to 
excite  suspicion :  but  a  certain  daring,  reckless  man- 
ner, would  at  once  have  distinguished  them,  inde- 
pendently of  anything  else,  from  the  quiet,  hard- 
worked,  red-shirted,  merchant  seaman. 

"That  chap  is  not  much  to  be  trusted,"  said  the 
lieutenant;  "his  bunting  would  make  a  few  jackets 
for  Joseph,  I  take  it."  But  we  had  httle  time  to 
be  critical,  before  our  friend  Peter  came  paddling 
back  with  another  blackamoor  in  the  stern,  of  as 
ungainly  an  exterior  as  could  well  be  imagined.  He 
was  a  very  large  man,  whose  weight  every  now  and 
then,  as  they  breasted  the  short  sea,  cocked  up  the 
snout  of  the  canoe  with  Peter  Mangrove  in  it,  as  if 
he  had  been  a  cork,  leaving  him  to  flourish  his  pad- 
dle in  the  air,  like  the  weather-wheel  of  a  steam- 
boat in  a  sea-way.  The  new-comer  was  strong  and 
broad-shouldered,  with  long  muscular  arms,  and  a 
chest  like  Hercules;  but  his  legs  and  thighs  were, 
for  his  bulk,  remarkably  puny  and  misshapen.  A 
thick  fell  of  black  wool,  in  close  tufts,  as  if  his  face 
had  been  stuck  full  of  cloves,  covered  his  chin  and 
upper-lip;  and  his  hair,  if  hair  it  could  be  called,  was 
twisted  into  a  hundred  short  plaits,  that  bristled  out, 
and  gave  his  head,  when  he  took  his  hat  off,  the  ap- 
pearance of  a  porcupine.  There  was  a  large  saber- 
cut  across  his  nose  and  down  his  cheek,  and  he  wore 
two  immense  gold  earrings.      His   dress  consisted 


8  GREAT  PIRATE  STORIES 

of  short  cotton  drawers,  that  did  not  reach  within 
two  inches  of  his  knee,  leaving  his  thin  cucumber 
shanks  (on  which  the  small  bullet-like  calf  appeared 
to  have  been  stuck  before,  through  mistake,  in  place 
of  abaft)  naked  to  the  shoe;  a  check  shirt,  and  an 
enormously  large  Panama  hat,  made  of  a  sort  of 
cane,  split  small,  and  worn  shovel-fashion.  Not- 
withstanding, he  made  his  bow  by  no  means  ungrace- 
fully, and  offered  his  services  in  choice  Spanish,  but 
spoke  English  as  soon  as  he  heard  who  we  were. 

"Pray,  sir,  are  you  the  master  of  that  vessel?" 
said  the  lieutenant. 

"No,  sir,  I  am  the  mate,  and  I  learn  you  are  de- 
sirous of  a  passage  to  Jamaica."  This  was  spoken 
with  a  broad  Scotch  accent. 

"Yes,  we  are,"  said  I,  in  very  great  astonish- 
ment, "but  we  will  not  sail  with  the  devil;  and  who 
ever  saw  a  negro  Scotchman  before,  the  spirit  of 
Nicol  Jarvie  conjured  into  a  blackamoor's  skin!" 

The  fellow  laughed.  "I  am  black,  as  you  see;  so 
were  my  father  and  mother  before  me."  And  he 
looked  at  me,  as  much  as  to  say,  I  have  read  the 
book  you  quote  from.  "But  I  was  born  in  the  good 
town  of  Port-Glasgow  notwithstanding,  and  many 
a  voyage  I  have  made  as  cabin-boy  and  cook  in  the 
good  ship  the  Peggy  Bogle,  with  worthy  old  Jock 
Hunter;  but  that  matters  not.  I  was  told  you 
wanted  to  go  to  Jamaica;  I  dare-say  our  captain  will 
take  you  for  a  moderate  passage-money.  But  here 
he  comes  to  speak  for  himself. — Captain  Vander- 


THE  PICCAROON  9 

bosh,  here  are  two  shipwrecked  British  officers,  who 
wish  to  be  put  on  shore  on  the  east  end  of  Jamaica; 
will  you  take  them,  and  what  will  you  charge  for 
their  passage?" 

The  man  he  spoke  to  was  nearly  as  tall  as  him- 
self; he  was  a  sunburnt,  angular,  raw-boned,  iron- 
visaged  veteran,  with  a  nose  in  shape  and  color 
like  the  bowl  of  his  own  pipe,  but  not  at  all,  accord- 
ing to  the  received  idea,  like  a  Dutchman.  His 
dress  was  quizzical  enough — white-trousers,  a  long- 
flapped  embroidered  waistcoat  that  might  have  be- 
longed to  a  Spanish  grandee,  with  an  old-fashioned 
French-cut  coat,  showing  the  frayed  marks  where 
the  lace  had  been  stripped  off,  voluminous  in  the 
skirts,  but  very  tight  in  the  sleeves,  which  were 
so  short  as  to  leave  his  large  bony  paws,  and  six 
inches  of  his  arm  above  the  wrist,  exposed;  alto- 
gether, it  fitted  him  like  a  purser's  shirt  on  a  hand- 
spike. 

"Vy,  for  von  hondred  thaler  I  will  land  dem  safe 
in  Mancheoneal  Bay;  but  how  shall  ve  manage, 
Villiamson?    De  cabin  vas  point  yesterday." 

The  Scotch  negro  nodded.  "Never  mind;  I  dare- 
say the  smell  of  the  paint  won't  signify  to  the  gen- 
tlemen." 

The  bargain  was  ratified;  we  agreed  to  pay  the 
stipulated  sum,  and  that  same  evening,  having 
dropped  down  with  the  last  of  the  sea-breeze,  we 
set  sail  from  Bocca  Chica,  and  began  working  up 
under   the   lee   of  the   headland   of   Punto    Canoa. 


10  GREAT  PIRATE  STORIES 

When  off  the  San  Domingo  Gate,  we  burned  a  blue- 
light,  wliich  was  imnncdiatcly  answered  by  another 
in-shorc  of  us.  In  the  glare  we  could  perceive  two 
boats,  full  of  men.  Any  one  who  has  ever  played 
at  snapdragon,  can  imagine  the  unearthly  appearance 
of  objects  when  seen  by  this  species  of  firework.  In 
the  present  instance  it  was  held  aloft  on  a  boat-hook, 
and  cast  a  strong  spectral  light  on  the  band  of  law- 
less ruffians,  who  were  so  crowded  together  that  they 
entirely  filled  the  boats,  no  part  of  which  could  be 
seen.  It  seemed  as  if  two  clusters  of  fiends,  sud- 
denly vomited  forth  from  hell,  were  floating  on  the 
surface  of  the  midnight  sea,  in  the  midst  of  brim- 
stone flames.  In  a  few  moments  our  crew  was 
strengthened  by  about  forty  as  ugly  Christians  as 
I  ever  set  eyes  on.  They  were  of  all  ages,  coun- 
tries, complexions,  and  tongues,  and  looked  as  if 
they  had  been  kidnapped  by  a  pressgang  as  they  had 
knocked  off  from  the  Tower  of  Babel.  From  the 
moment  they  came  on  board,  Captain  Vanderbosh 
was  shorn  of  all  his  glory,  and  sank  into  the  petty 
officer  while,  to  our  amazement,  the  Scottish  negro 
took  the  command,  evincing  great  coolness,  energy, 
and  skill.  He  ordered  the  schooner  to  be  wore  as 
soon  as  we  had  shipped  the  men,  and  laid  her  head 
off  the  land,  then  set  all  hands  to  shift  the  old  suit 
of  sails,  and  to  bend  new  ones. 

"Why  did  you  not  shift  your  canvas  before  we 
started?"  said  I  to  the  Dutch  captain,  or  mate,  or 
whatever  he  might  be. 


THE  PICCAROON  11 

"Vy  vont  you  be  content  to  take  a  quiet  passage 
and  hax  no  question?"  was  the  uncivil  rejoinder, 
which  I  felt  inclined  to  resent,  until  I  remembered 
that  we  were  in  the  hands  of  the  Philistines,  where 
a  quarrel  would  have  been  worse  than  useless.  I 
was  gulping  down  the  insult  as  well  as  I  could,  when 
the  black  captain  came  aft,  and,  with  the  air  of 
an  equal,  invited  us  into  the  cabin  to  take  a  glass  of 
grog.  We  had  scarcely  sat  down  before  we  heard 
a  noise  like  the  swaying  up  of  guns,  or  some  other 
heavy  articles,  from  the  hold. 

I  caught  Mr.  Splinter's  eye — he  nodded,  but  said 
nothing.  In  half  an  hour  afterwards,  when  we  went 
on  deck,  we  saw  by  the  light  of  the  moon  twelve 
eighteen-pound  carronades  mounted,  six  of  a  side, 
with  their  accompaniments  of  rammers  and  sponges, 
water-buckets,  boxes  of  round,  grape,  and  canister, 
and  tubs  of  wadding,  while  the  coamings  of  the 
hatchways  were  thickly  studded  with  round-shot. 
The  tarpaulin  and  lumber  forward  had  disap- 
peared, and  there  lay  long  Tom,  ready  levelled,  grin- 
ning on  his  pivot. 

The  ropes  were  all  coiled  away,  and  laid  down 
in  regular  man-of-war  fashion;  while  an  ugly  gruff 
beast  of  a  Spanish  mulatto,  apparently  the  officer 
of  the  watch,  walked  the  weatherside  of  the  quar- 
terdeck in  the  true  pendulum  style.  Look-outs  were 
placed  aft,  and  at  the  gangways  and  bows,  who  every 
now  and  then  passed  the  word  to  keep  a  bright 
look-out,  while  the  rest  of  the  watch  were  stretched 


12         gki<:at  pirate  stories 

silent,  but  evidently  broad  awake,  under  the  lee  of 
the  boat.  Wc  noticed  that  each  man  had  his  cut- 
lass buckled  round  his  waist — that  the  boarding- 
pikes  had  been  cut  loose  from  the  main  boom,  round 
which  they  had  been  stopped,  and  that  about  thirty 
muskets  were  ranged  along  a  fixed  rack  that  ran 
athwart  ships  near  the  main  hatchway. 

By  the  time  we  had  reconnoitred  thus  far  the 
night  became  overcast,  and  a  thick  bank  of  clouds 
began  to  rise  to  windward;  some  heavy  drops  of  rain 
fell,  and  the  thunder  grumbled  at  a  distance.  The 
black  veil  crept  gradually  on,  until  it  shrouded  the 
whole  firmament,  and  left  us  in  as  dark  a  night  as 
ever  poor  devils  were  out  in.  By-and-by  a  narrow 
streak  of  bright  moonlight  appeared  under  the 
lower-edge  of  the  bank,  defining  the  dark  outlines 
of  the  tumbling  multitudinous  billows  on  the  horizon 
as  distinctly  as  if  they  had  been  pasteboard  waves 
in  a  theater. 

"Is  that  a  sail  to  windward  in  the  clear,  think 
you?"  said  Mr.  Splinter  to  me  in  a  whisper.  At 
this  moment  it  lightened  vividly.  "I  am  sure  it  is," 
continued  he — "I  could  see  her  white  canvas  glance 
just  now." 

I  looked  steadily,  and  at  last  caught  the  small 
dark  speck  against  the  bright  background,  rising  and 
falling  on  the  swell  of  the  sea  like  a  feather. 

As  we  stood  on,  she  was  seen  more  distinctly, 
but,  to  all  appearance,  nobody  was  aware  of  her 
proximity.     We  were  mistaken  in  this,  however,  for 


THE  PICCAROON  13 

the  captain  suddenly  jumped  on  a  gun,  and  gave  his 
orders  with  a  fiery  energy  that  startled  us. 

"Leroux!"  A  Small  French  boy  was  at  his  side 
in  a  moment.  "Forward,  and  call  all  hands  to  short- 
en sail;  but,  doitcement,  you  land-crab! — Man  the 
fore  clew-garnets. — Hands  by  the  top-gallant  clew- 
lines— jib  down-haul — rise  tacks  and  sheets — peak 
and  throat  haulyards — let  go — clew  up — settle 
away  the  main-gaff  there!" 

In  almost  as  short  a  space  as  I  have  taken  to 
write  it,  every  inch  of  canvas  was  close  furled — 
every  light,  except  the  one  in  the  binnacle,  and  that 
was  cautiously  masked,  carefully  extinguished — a 
hundred  and  twenty  men  at  quarters,  and  the  ship 
under  bare  poles.  The  head-yards  were  then 
squared,  and  we  bore  up  before  the  wind.  The 
stratagem  proved  successful;  the  strange  sail  could 
be  seen  through  the  night-glasses  cracking  on  close 
to  the  wind,  evidently  under  the  impression  that  we 
had  tacked. 

"Dere  she  goes,  chasing  de  Gobel,"  said  the 
Dutchman. 

She  now  burned  a  blue-light,  by  which  we  saw 
she  was  a  heavy  cutter — without  doubt  our  old  fel- 
low-cruiser the  Spark.  The  Dutchman  had  come  to 
the  same  conclusion. 

"My  eye,  captain,  no  use  to  dodge  from  her;  it  is 
only  dat  footy  little  King's  cutter  on  de  Jamaica 
station." 

"It  is  her,  true  enough,"  answered  Williamson; 


14  GRl'AT  IMRA'Jl-:  S'iORlI-S 

"and  she  is  from  Santa  Martlia  with  a  freight  of 
specie,  I  know.     I  will  try  a  brush  with  her,  by " 

Splinter  struck  in  before  he  could  finish  his  ir- 
reverent exclamation.  "If  your  conjecture  be  true, 
I  know  the  craft — a  heavy  vessel  of  her  class,  and 
you  may  depend  on  hard  knocks,  and  small  profit 
if  you  do  take  her;  while  if  she  takes  you " 

"I'll  be  hanged  if  she  does" — and  he  grinned  at 
the  conceit — then  setting  his  teeth  hard,  "or  rather, 
I  will  blow  the  schooner  up  with  my  own  hand  before 
I  strike;  better  that  than  have  one's  bones  bleached 
in  chains  on  a  key  at  Port  Royal.  But  you  see  you 
cannot  control  us,  gentlemen;  so  get  down  into  the 
cable-tier,  and  take  Peter  Mangrove  with  you.  I 
would  not  willingly  see  those  come  to  harm  who 
have  trusted  me." 

However,  there  was  no  shot  flying  as  yet,  we 
therefore  stayed  on  deck.  All  sail  was  once  more 
made;  the  carronades  were  cast  loose  on  both  sides, 
and  double-shotted,  the  long-gun  slewed  round,  the 
tack  of  the  fore-and-aft  foresail  hauled  up,  and  we 
kept  by  the  wind,  and  stood  after  the  cutter,  whose 
white  canvas  we  could  still  see  through  the  gloom 
like  a  snow-wreath. 

As  soon  as  she  saw  us,  she  tacked  and  stood  to- 
wards us,  and  came  bowling  along  gallantly,  with 
the  water  roaring  and  flashing  at  her  bows.  As 
the  vessels  neared  each  other  they  both  shortened 
sail,  and  finding  that  we  could  not  weather  her, 
we  steered  close  under  her  lee. 


THE  PICCAROON  15 

As  we  crossed  on  opposite  tacks,  her  commander 
hailed,  "Ho,  the  brigantine,  ahoy!" 

"Hillo!"  sung  out  Blackie,  as  he  backed  his  main- 
top-sail. 

"What  schooner  is  that?" 

"The  Spanish  schooner  Caridad." 

"Whence,  and  whither  bound?" 

"Carthagena  to  Porto  Rico." 

"Heave-to,  and  send  your  boat  on  board." 

"We  have  none  that  will  swim,  sir." 

"Very  well,  bring-to,  and  I  will  send  mine." 

"Call  away  the  boarders,"  said  our  captain,  in 
a  low  stern  tone;  "let  them  crouch  out  of  sight  be- 
hind the  boat." 

The  cutter  wore,  and  hove-to  under  our  lee  quar- 
ter, within  pistol-shot;  we  heard  the  rattle  of  the 
ropes  running  through  the  davit-blocks,  and  the 
splash  of  the  jolly-boat  touching  the  water,  then 
the  measured  stroke  of  the  oars,  as  they  glanced 
like  silver  in  the  sparkling  sea,  and  a  voice  calling 
out,  "Give  way,  my  lads." 

The  character  of  the  vessel  we  were  on  board  of 
was  now  evident;  and  the  bitter  reflection  that  we 
were  chained  to  the  stake  on  board  of  a  pirate,  on 
the  eve  of  a  fierce  contest  with  one  of  our  own 
cruisers,  was  aggravated  by  the  consideration,  that 
the  cutter  had  fallen  into  a  snare  by  which  a  whole 
boat's  crew  would  be  sacrificed  before  a  shot  was 
fired. 

I  watched  my  opportunity  as  she  pulled  up  along- 


16  GREAT  PIRATE  STORIES 

side,  and  called  out,  leaning  well  over  the  nettings, 
"Get  back  to  your  ship! — treachery!  get  back  to 
your  ship !" 

The  little  French  serpent  was  at  my  side  with  the 
speed  of  thought,  his  long  clear  knife  glancing  in 
one  hand,  while  the  fingers  of  the  other  were  laid 
on  his  lips.  He  could  not  have  said  more  plainly, 
"Hold  your  tongue,  or  I'll  cut  your  throat;"  but 
Sneezer  now  startled  him  by  rushing  between  us, 
and  giving  a  short  angry  growl. 

The  officer  in  the  boat  had  heard  me  imperfectly; 
he  rose  up — "I  won't  go  back,  my  good  man,  until 
I  see  what  you  are  made  of;"  and  as  he  spoke  he 
sprang  on  board,  but  the  instant  he  got  over  the 
bulwarks,  he  was  caught  by  two  strong  hands, 
gagged,  and  thrown  bodily  down  the  main-hatch- 
way. 

"Heave,"  cried  a  voice,  "and  with  a  will!"  and 
four  cold  32-pound  shot  were  hove  at  once  into  the 
boat  alongside,  which,  crashing  through  her  bottom, 
swamped  her  in  a  moment,  precipitating  the  miser- 
able crew  into  the  boiling  sea.  Their  shrieks  still 
ring  in  my  ears  as  they  clung  to  the  oars  and  some 
loose  planks  of  the  boat. 

"Bring  up  the  officer,  and  take  out  the  gag," 
said  Williamson. 

Poor  Walcolm,  who  had  been  an  old  messmate  of 
mine,  was  now  dragged  to  the  gangway  half-naked, 
his  face  bleeding,  and  heavily  ironed,  when  the 
blackamoor,  clapping  a  pistol  to  his  head,  bid  him, 


THE  PICCAROON  17 

as  he  feared  instant  death,  hail  "that  the  boat  had 
swamped  under  the  counter,  and  to  send  another." 
The  poor  fellow,  who  appeared  stunned  and  con- 
fused, did  so,  but  without  seeming  to  know  what  he 
said. 

"Good  God,"  said  Mr.  Splinter,  "don't  you  mean 
to  pick  up  the  boat's  crew?" 

The  blood  curdled  to  my  heart,  as  the  black  sav- 
age answered  in  a  voice  of  thunder,  "Let  them 
drown  and  be  d d !     Fill,  and  stand  on  !" 

But  the  clouds  by  this  time  broke  away,  and 
the  mild  moon  shone  clear  and  bright  once  more 
upon  this  scene  of  most  atrocious  villainy.  By  her 
light  the  cutter's  people  could  see  that  there  was 
no  one  struggling  in  the  water  now,  and  that  the 
people  must  either  have  been  saved,  or  were  past 
all  earthly  aid;  but  the  infamous  deception  was  not 
entirely  at  an  end. 

The  captain  of  the  cutter,  seeing  we  were  making 
sail,  did  the  same,  and  after  having  shot  ahead  of 
us,  hailed  once  more. 

"Mr.  Walcolm,  why  don't  you  run  to  leeward, 
and  heave-to,  sir?" 

"Answer  him  instantly,  and  hail  again  for  another 
boat,"  said  the  sable  fiend,  and  cocked  his  pistol. 

The  click  went  to  my  heart.  The  young  midship- 
man turned  his  pale  mild  countenance,  laced  with 
his  blood,  upwards  towards  the  moon  and  stars,  as 
one  who  had  looked  his  last  look  on  earth;  the  large 
tears  were  flowing  down  his  cheeks,  and  mingling 


18  (iRl-:Ar  PIRATi:  STORIKS 

with  the  crimson  streaks,  and  a  flood  of  silver  light 
fell  on  the  fine  features  of  the  poor  boy,  as  he  said 
firmly,  "Never."  The  miscreant  fired,  and  he  fell 
dead. 

"Up  with  the  helm,  and  wear  across  her  stern." 
The  order  was  obeyed.  "Fire!"  The  whole  broad- 
side was  poured  in,  and  we  could  hear  the  shot  rattle 
and  tear  along  the  cutter's  deck,  and  the  shrieks  and 
groans  of  the  wounded,  while  the  white  splinters 
glanced  away  in  all  directions. 

We  now  ranged  alongside,  and  close  action  com- 
menced, and  never  do  I  expect  to  see  such  an  infernal 
scene  again.  Up  to  this  moment  there  had  been 
neither  confusion  nor  noise  on  board  the  pirate — all 
had  been  coolness  and  order;  but  when  the  yards 
locked  the  crew  broke  loose  from  all  control — they 
ceased  to  be  men — they  were  demons,  for  they 
threw  their  own  dead  and  wounded,  as  they  were 
mown  down  like  grass  by  the  cutter's  grape,  indis- 
criminately down  the  hatchways  to  get  clear  of  them. 
They  had  stripped  themselves  almost  naked;  and 
although  they  fought  with  the  most  desperate  cour- 
age, yelling  and  cursing,  each  in  his  own  tongue,  most 
hideously,  yet  their  ver)'  numbers,  pent  up  in  a  small 
vessel,  were  against  them.  At  length,  amidst  the 
fire  and  smoke  and  hellish  uproar,  we  could  see  that 
the  deck  had  become  a  very  shambles;  and  unless 
they  soon  carried  the  cutter  by  boarding,  it  was  clear 
that  the  coolness  and  discipline  of  my  own  glorious 
service  must  prevail,  even  against  such  fearful  odds; 


THE  PICCAROON  19 

the  superior  size  of  the  vessel,  greater  number  of 
guns,  and  heavier  metal.  The  pirates  seemed  aware 
of  this  themselves,  for  they  now  made  a  desperate 
attempt  forward  to  carry  their  antagonist  by  board- 
ing, led  on  by  the  black  captain.  Just  at  this  mo- 
ment the  cutter's  main-boom  fell  across  the  schoon- 
er's deck,  close  to  where  we  were  sheltering  our- 
selves from  the  shot  the  best  way  we  could;  and 
while  the  rush  forward  was  being  made,  by  a  sudden 
impulse  Splinter  and  I,  followed  by  Peter  and  the 
dog  (who  with  wonderful  sagacity,  seeing  the  use- 
lessness  of  resistance,  had  cowered  quietly  by  my 
side  during  the  whole  row),  scrambled  along  it  as 
the  cutter's  people  were  repelling  the  attack  on  her 
bow,  and  all  four  of  us,  in  our  haste,  jumped  down 
on  the  poor  Irishman  at  the  wheel. 

"Murder,  fire,  rape,  and  robbery! — it  is  capsized, 
stove  in,  sunk,  burned,  and  destroyed  I  am!  Cap- 
tain, captain,  we  are  carried  aft  here — Och,  hub- 
baboo  for  Patrick  Donnally!" 

There  was  no  time  to  be  lost;  if  any  of  the  crew 
came  aft  we  were  dead  men,  so  we  tumbled  down 
through  the  cabin  skylight,  men  and  beast,  the  hatch 
having  been  knocked  off  by  a  shot,  and  stowed  our- 
selves away  in  the  side  berths.  The  noise  on  deck 
soon  ceased — the  cannon  were  again  plied — gradu- 
ally the  fire  slackened,  and  we  could  hear  that  the 
pirate  had  scraped  clear  and  escaped.  Some  time 
after  this  the  lieutenant  commanding  the  cutter  came 
down.     Poor  Mr.  Douglas !  both  Mr.  Splinter  and 


20  GREAT  PIRATE  STORIES 

I  knew  him  well.  He  sat  down  and  covered  his 
face  with  'his  hands,  while  the  blood  oo/.ed  down 
between  his  fingers.  He  had  received  a  cutlass 
wound  on  the  head  in  the  attack.  His  right  arm 
was  bound  up  with  his  neckcloth,  and  he  was  very 
pale. 

"Steward,  bring  me  a  light. — Ask  the  doctor  how 
many  are  killed  and  wounded;  and — do  you  hear? 
— tell  him  to  come  to  me  when  he  is  done  forward, 
but  not  a  moment  sooner.  To  have  been  so  mauled 
and  duped  by  a  buccanneer;  and  my  poor  boat's 
crew " 

Splinter  groaned.  He  started — but  at  this  mo- 
ment the  man  returned  again. 

"Thirteen  killed,  your  honor,  and  fifteen 
wounded;  scarcely  one  of  us  untouched."  The  poor 
fellow's  own  skull  was  bound  round  with  a  bloody 
cloth. 

"God  help  me!  Gold  help  me!  but  they  have 
died  the  death  of  men.  Who  knows  what  death  the 
poor  fellows  in  the  boat  have  died!" — Here  he  was 
cut  short  by  a  tremendous  scuffle  on  the  ladder, 
down  which  an  old  quartermaster  was  trundled  neck 
and  crop  into  the  cabin.     "How  now,  Jones?" 

"Please  your  honor,"  said  the  man,  as  soon  as  he 
had  gathered  himself  up,  and  had  time  to  turn  his 
quid  and  smooth  down  his  hair;  but  again  the  up- 
roar was  renewed,  and  Donnally  was  lugged  in, 
scrambling  and  struggling  between  two  seamen — 
"this  here  Irish  chap,  your  honor,  has  lost  his  wits, 


THE  PICCAROON  21 

if  so  be  he  ever  had  any,  your  honor.  He  has  gone 
mad  through  fright." 

"Fright  be  d d!"  roared  Donnally;  "no  man 

ever  frightened  me;  but  as  his  honor  was  skewer- 
ing them  bloody  thieves  forward,  I  was  boarded  and 
carried   aft  by  the  devil,  your  honor — pooped  by 

Beelzebub,  by ,"  and  he  rapped  his  fist  on  the 

table  until  everything  on  it  danced  again.  "There 
were  four  of  them,  yeer  honor — a  black  one  and 
two  blue  ones — and  a  pie-bald  one,  with  four  legs 
and  a  bushy  tail — each  with  two  horns  on  his  head, 
for  all  the  world  like  those  on  Father  M'Cleary's 
red  cow — no,  she  was  humbled — it  Is  Father  Clan- 
nachan's,  I  mane — no,  not  his  neither,  for  his  was 
the  parish  bull;  fait,  I  don't  know  what  I  mane,  ex- 
cept that  they  had  all  horns  on  their  heads,  and 
vomited  fire,  and  had  each  of  them  a  tail  at  his 
stern,  twisting  and  twining  like  a  conger  eel,  with  a 
blue  light  at  the  end  on't." 

"And  dat's  a  lie,  if  ever  dere  was  one,"  exclaimed 
Peter  Mangrove,  jumping  from  the  berth.  "Look 
at  me,  you  Irish  tief,  and  tell  me  if  I  have  a  blue 
light  or  a  conger  eel  at  my  stern!" 

This  was  too  much  for  poor  Donnally.  He 
yelled  out,  "You'll  believe  your  own  eyes  now,  yeer 
honor,  when  you  see  one  o'  dem  bodily  before  you  I 
Let  me  go — let  me  go !"  and,  rushing  up  the  ladder, 
he  would,  in  all  probability,  have  ended  his  earthly 
career  in  the  salt  sea,  had  his  bullet-head  not  en- 
countered the  broadest  part  of  the  purser,  who  was 


22  GREAT  PIRATE  STORIES 

in  the  act  of  descending,  with  such  violence,  that  he 
shot  him  out  of  the  companion  several  feet  above 
the  deck,  as  if  he  had  been  discharged  from  a  cul- 
verin;  but  the  recoil  sent  poor  Donnally,  stunned 
and  senseless,  to  the  bottom  of  the  ladder.  There- 
was  no  standing  all  this;  we  laughed  outright,  and 
made  ourselves  known  to  Mr.  Douglas,  who  received 
us  cordially,  and  in  a  week  we  were  landed  at  Port 
Royal. 


THE  CAPTURE  OF  PANAMA,  1671  * 
John  Esquemeling 

CAPTAIN  MORGAN  set  forth  from  the  cas- 
tie  of  Chagre,  towards  Panama,  August  18, 
1670.  He  had  with  him  twelve  hundred  men, 
five  boats  laden  with  artillery,  and  thirty-two  canoes. 
The  first  day  they  sailed  only  six  leagues,  and  came 
to  a  place  called  De  los  Bracos.  Here  a  party  of 
his  men  went  ashore,  only  to  sleep  and  stretch  their 
limbs,  being  almost  crippled  with  lying  too  much 
crowded  in  the  boats.  Having  rested  awhile,  they 
went  abroad  to  seek  victuals  in  the  neighboring 
plantations;  but  they  could  find  none,  the  Spaniards 
being  fled,  and  carrying  with  them  all  they  had.  This 
day,  being  the  first  of  their  journey,  they  had  such 
scarcity  of  victuals,  as  the  greatest  part  were  forced 
to  pass  with  only  a  pipe  of  tobacco,  without  any 
other  refreshment. 

Next  day,  about  evening,  they  came  to  a  place 
called  Cruz  de  Juan  Gallego.  Here  they  were  com- 
pelled to  leave  their  boats  and  canoes,  the  river 
being  very  dry  for  want  of  rain,  and  many  trees 
having  fallen  into  it. 

The  guides  told  them,  that,  about  two  leagues 

*  From  The  Buccaneers  of  America, 

23 


24  GREAT  PIRATE  STORIES 

farther,  the  country  would  be  very  good  to  continue 
the  journey  by  land.  Hereupon  they  left  one  hun- 
dred and  sixty  men  on  board  the  boats,  to  defend 
them,  that  they  might  serve  for  a  refuge  in  necessity. 

Next  morning,  being  the  third  dav,  they  all  went 
ashore,  except  those  who  were  to  keep  the  boats. 
To  these  Captain  Morgan  gave  order,  under  great 
penalties,  that  no  man,  on  any  pretext  whatever, 
should  dare  to  leave  the  boats,  and  go  ashore;  fear- 
ing lest  they  should  be  surprised  by  an  ambuscade 
of  Spaniards  in  the  neighboring  woods,  which  ap- 
peared so  thick  as  to  seem  almost  impenetrable. 
This  morning  beginning  their  march,  the  ways 
proved  so  bad,  that  Captain  Morgan  thought  it 
more  convenient  to  transport  some  of  the  men  in 
canoes  (though  with  great  labor)  to  a  place  farther 
up  the  river,  called  Cedro  Bueno.  Thus  they  re- 
embarked,  and  the  canoes  returned  for  the  rest;  so 
that  about  night  they  got  altogether  at  the  said 
place.  The  pirates  much  desired  to  meet  some 
Spaniards  or  Indians,  hoping  to  fill  their  bellies  with 
their  provisions,  being  reduced  to  extremity  and 
hunger. 

The  fourth  day  the  greatest  part  of  the  pirates 
marched  by  land,  being  led  by  one  of  the  guides; 
the  rest  went  by  water  farther  up,  being  conducted 
by  another  guide,  who  always  went  before  them, 
to  discover,  on  both  sides  of  the  river,  the  ambus- 
cades. These  had  also  spies,  who  were  very  dex- 
trous to  give  notice  of  all  accidents,  or  of  the  arrival 


THE  CAPTURE  OF  PANAMA,  1671      2^ 

of  the  pirates,  six  hours,  at  least,  before  they  came. 
This  day,  about  noon,  they  came  near  a  post  called 
Torna  Cavallos:  here  the  guide  of  the  canoes  cried 
out,  that  he  perceived  an  ambuscade.  His  voice 
caused  infinite  joy  to  all  the  pirates,  hoping  to  find 
some  provisions  to  satiate  their  extreme  hunger. 
Being  come  to  the  place,  they  found  nobody  in  it, 
the  Spaniards  being  fled,  and  leaving  nothing  be- 
hind but  a  few  leathern  bags,  all  empty,  and  a  few 
crumbs  of  bread  scattered  on  the  ground  where  they 
had  eaten.  Being  angry  at  this,  they  pulled  down  a 
few  little  huts  which  the  Spaniards  had  made,  and 
fell  to  eating  the  leathern  bags,  to  allay  the  ferment 
of  their  stomachs,  which  was  now  so  sharp  as  to 
gnaw  their  very  bowels.  Thus  they  made  a  huge 
banquet  upon  these  bags  of  leather,  divers  quarrels 
arising  concerning  the  greatest  shares.  By  the  big- 
ness of  the  place,  they  conjectured  about  five  hun- 
dred Spaniards  had  been  there,  whom,  finding  no 
victuals,  they  were  now  infinitely  desirous  to  meet, 
intending  to  devour  some  of  them  rather  than 
perish. 

Having  feasted  themselves  with  those  pieces  of 
leather,  they  marched  on,  till  they  came  about  night 
to  another  post,  called  Torna  Munni.  Here  they 
found  another  ambuscade,  but  as  barren  as  the  for- 
mer. They  searched  the  neighboring  woods,  but 
could  not  find  anything  to  eat,  the  Spaniards  having 
been  so  provident,  as  not  to  leave  anywhere  the 
least  crumb  of  sustenance,  whereby  the  pirates  were 


26  GREAT  PIRATE  STORIES 

now  broujrht  to  this  extremity.  Here  again  he  was 
happy  that  he  had  reserved  since  noon  any  bit  of 
leather  to  make  Ills  supper  of,  drinking  after  it  a 
good  draught  of  water  for  his  comfort.  Some,  who 
never  were  out  of  their  mothers'  kitchens,  may  ask, 
how  these  pirates  could  eat  and  digest  those  pieces 
of  leather,  so  hard  and  dry?  Whom  I  answer,  that, 
could  they  once  experiment  what  hunger,  or  rather 
famine,  is,  they  would  find  the  way  as  the  pirates 
did.  I'or  these  first  sliced  it  in  pieces,  then  they  beat 
it  between  two  stones,  and  rubbed  it,  often  dipping 
it  in  water,  to  make  it  supple  and  tender.  Lastly, 
they  scraped  off  the  hair,  and  broiled  it.  Being  thus 
cooked,  they  cut  it  into  small  morsels,  and  ate  it, 
helping  it  down  with  frequent  gulps  of  water,  which, 
by  good  fortune,  they  had  at  hand. 

The  fifth  day,  about  noon,  they  came  to  a  place 
called  Barbacoa.  Here  they  found  traces  of  an- 
other ambuscade,  but  the  place  totally  as  unprovided 
as  the  former.  At  a  small  distance  were  several 
plantations,  which  they  searched  very  narrowly, 
but  could  not  find  any  person,  animal,  or  othe;*  thing, 
to  relieve  their  extreme  hunger.  Finally,  having 
ranged  about,  and  searched  a  long  time,  ^ey  found 
a  grot,  which  seemed  to  be  but  lately  hewn  out  of 
a  rock,  where  were  two  sacks  of  meal,  wheat,  and 
like  things,  with  two  great  jars  of  wine,  and  certain 
fruits  called  platanoes.  Captain  Morgan,  knowing 
some  of  his  men  were  now  almost  dead  with  hun- 
ger, and  fearing  the  same  of  the  rest,  caused  what 


THE  CAPTURE  OF  PANAMA,  1671      27 

was  found  to  be  distributed  among  them  who  were 
In  greatest  necessity.  Having  refreshed  themselves 
with  these  victuals,  they  marched  anew  with  greater 
courage  then  ever.  Such  as  were  weak  were  put 
into  the  canoes,  and  those  commanded  to  land  that 
were  in  them  before.  Thus  they  prosecuted  their 
journey  till  late  at  night;  when  coming  to  a  planta- 
tion, they  took  up  their  rest,  but  without  eating 
anything;  for  the  Spaniards,  as  before,  had  swept 
away  all  manner  of  provisions. 

The  sixth  day  they  continued  their  march,  part 
by  land  and  part  by  water.  Howbeit,  they  were 
constrained  to  rest  very  frequently,  both  for  the 
ruggedness  of  the  way,  and  their  extreme  weakness, 
which  they  endeavored  to  relieve  by  eating  leaves  of 
trees  and  green  herbs,  or  grass;  such  was  their  mis- 
erable condition.  This  day  at  noon  they  arrived  at 
a  plantation,  where  was  a  barn  full  of  maize.  Im- 
mediately they  beat  down  the  doors  and  ate  it  dry, 
as  much  as  they  could  devour;  then  they  distributed 
a  great  quantity,  giving  every  man  a  good  allow- 
ance. Thus  provided,  and  prosecuting  their  jour- 
ney for  about  an  hour,  they  came  to  another  am- 
buscade. This  they  no  sooner  discovered,  but 
they  threw  away  their  maize,  with  the  sudden 
hopes  of  finding  all  things  in  abundance. 
But  they  were  much  deceived,  meeting  neither 
Indians  nor  victuals,  nor  anything  else:  but 
they  saw,  on  the  other  side  of  the  river,  about  a  hun- 
dred Indians,  who,  all  fleeing,  escaped.     Some  few 


28  GREAT  PIRATE  STORIES 

pirates  leaped  into  the  river  to  cross  it,  and  try  to 
take  any  of  tlic  Indians,  but  in  vain  :  for,  being  much 
more  nimble  than  the  pirates,  they  not  only  baffled 
them,  but  killed  two  or  three  with  their  arrows; 
hooting  at  them,  and  crying,  "Ha,  perrosi  a  la 
savana,  a  la  savana." — "Ha,  ye  dogs!  go  to  the 
plain,  go  to  the  plain." 

This  day  they  could  advance  no  farther,  being 
necessitated  to  pass  the  river,  to  continue  their  march 
on  the  other  side.  Hereupon  they  reposed  for  that 
night,  though  their  sleep  was  not  profound;  for 
great  murmurings  were  made  at  Captain  Morgan, 
and  his  conduct;  some  being  desirous  to  return  home, 
while  others  would  rather  die  there  than  go  back  a 
step  from  their  undertaking:  others,  who  had 
greater  courage,  laughed  and  joked  at  their  dis- 
courses. Meanwhile,  they  had  a  guide  who  much 
comforted  them,  saying,  "It  would  not  now  be  long 
before  they  met  with  people  from  whom  they  should 
reap  some  considerable  advantage." 

The  seventh  day,  in  the  morning,  they  made  clean 
their  arms,  and  every  one  discharged  his  pistol,  or 
musket,  without  bullet,  to  try  their  firelocks.  This 
done,  they  crossed  the  river,  leaving  the  post  where 
they  had  rested,  called  Santa  Cruz,  and  at  noon 
they  arrived  at  a  village  called  Cruz.  Being  yet 
far  from  the  place,  they  perceived  much  smoke  from 
the  chimneys:  the  sight  hereof  gave  them  great 
joy,  and  hopes  of  finding  people  and  plenty  of  good 
cheer.    Thus  they  went  on  as  fast  as  they  could,  en- 


THE  CAPTURE  OF  PANAMA,  1671     29 

couraging  one  another,  saying,  "There  is  smoke 
comes  out  of  every  house :  they  are  making  good 
fires,  to  roast  and  boil  what  we  are  to  eat;"  and 
the  like. 

At  length  they  arrived  there,  all  sweating  and 
panting,  but  found  no  person  in  the  town,  nor  any- 
thing eatable  to  refresh  themselves,  except  good 
fires,  which  they  wanted  not;  for  the  Spaniards,  be- 
fore their  departure,  had  every  one  set  fire  to  his 
own  house,  except  the  king's  storehouses  and  stables. 

They  had  not  left  behind  them  any  beast,  alive  or 
dead,  which  much  troubled  their  pursuers,  not  find- 
ing anything  but  a  few  cats  and  dogs,  which  they  im- 
mediately killed  and  devoured.  At  last,  in  the 
king's  stables,  they  found,  by  good  fortune,  fifteen 
or  sixteen  jars  of  Peru  wine,  and  a  leathern  sack  full 
of  bread.  No  sooner  had  they  drank  of  this  wine, 
when  they  fell  sick,  almost  every  man:  this  made 
them  think  the  wine  was  poisoned,  which  caused  a 
new  consternation  in  the  whole  camp,  judging  them- 
selves now  to  be  irrecoverably  lost.  But  the  true 
reason  was,  their  want  of  sustenance,  and  the  mani- 
fold sorts  of  trash  they  had  eaten.  Their  sickness 
was  so  great,  as  caused  them  to  remain  there  till 
the  next  morning,  without  being  able  to  prosecute 
their  journey  in  the  afternoon.  This  village  is 
seated  in  9  deg.  2  min.  north  latitude,  distant  from 
the  river  Chagre  twenty-six  Spanish  leagues,  and 
eight  from  Panama.  This  is  the  last  place  to  which 
boats  or  canoes  can  come;  for  which  reason  they 


30  GREAT  PIRATE  STORIES 

built  here  storehouses  for  all  sorts  of  merchandise, 
wliich  to  and  from  Panama  are  transported  on  the 
backs  of  mules. 

Here  Captain  Morgan  was  forced  to  leave  his 
canoes,  and  land  all  his  men,  though  never  so  weak; 
but  lest  the  canoes  should  be  surprised,  or  take  up 
too  many  men  for  their  defense,  he  sent  them  all 
back  to  the  place  where  the  boats  were,  except  one, 
which  he  hid,  that  it  might  serve  to  carry  intelli- 
gence. Many  of  the  Spaniards  and  Indians  of  this 
village  having  fled  to  the  near  plantations,  Captain 
Morgan  ordered  that  none  should  go  out  of  the  vil- 
lage, except  companies  of  one  hundred  together, 
fearing  lest  the  enemy  should  take  an  advantage 
upon  his  men.  Notwithstanding,  one  party  contra- 
vened these  orders,  being  tempted  with  the  desire  of 
victuals:  but  they  were  soon  glad  to  fly  into  the 
town  again,  being  assaulted  with  great  fury  by  some 
Spaniards  and  Indians,  who  carried  one  of  them 
away  prisoner.  Thus  the  vigilancy  and  care  of 
Captain  Morgan  was  not  sufficient  to  prevent  every 
accident. 

The  eighth  day  in  the  morning  Captain  Morgan 
sent  two  hundred  men  before  the  body  of  his  army, 
to  discover  the  way  to  Panama,  and  any  ambus- 
cades therein:  the  path  being  so  narrow,  that  only 
ten  or  twelve  persons  could  march  abreast,  and 
often  not  so  many.  After  ten  hours'  march  they 
came  to  a  place  called  Quebrada  Obscura:  here, 
all  on  a  sudden,  three  or  four  thousand  arrows  were 


THE  CAPl^URE  OF  PANAMA,  1671      31 

shot  at  them,  they  not  perceiving  whence  they  came, 
or  who  shot  them :  though  they  presumed  it  was 
from  a  high  rocky  mountain,  from  one  side  to  the 
other,  whereon  was  a  grot,  capable  of  but  one  horse 
or  other  beast  laded.  This  multitude  of  arrows 
much  alarmed  the  pirates,  especially  because  they 
could  not  discover  whence  they  were  discharged.  At 
last,  seeing  no  more  arrows,  they  marched  a  little 
farther,  and  entered  a  wood:  here  they  perceived 
some  Indians  to  fly  as  fast  as  they  could,  to  take  the 
advantage  of  another  post,  thence  to  observe  their 
march;  yet  there  remained  one  troop  of  Indians  on 
the  place,  resolved  to  fight  and  defend  themselves, 
which  they  did  with  great  courage  till  their  captain 
fell  down  wounded;  who,  though  he  despaired  of 
life,  yet  his  valor  being  greater  than  his  strength, 
would  ask  no  quarter,  but,  endeavoring  to  raise  him- 
self, with  undaunted  mind  laid  hold  of  his  azagayo, 
or  javelin,  and  struck  at  one  of  the  pirates;  but 
before  he  could  second  the  blow,  he  was  shot  to 
death.  This  was  also  the  fate  of  many  of  his  com- 
panions, who,  like  good  soldiers,  lost  their  lives  with 
their  captain,  for  the  defense  of  their  country. 

The  pirates  endeavored  to  take  some  of  the  In- 
dians prisoners,  but  they  being  swifter  than  the  pi- 
rates, every  one  escaped,  leaving  eight  pirates  dead, 
and  ten  wounded:  yea,  had  the  Indians  been  more 
dextrous  in  military  affairs,  they  might  have  de- 
fended the  passage,  and  not  let  one  man  pass.  A 
little  while  after  they  came  to  a  large  champaign, 


32  GREAT  I>IRATI':  STORIES 

open,  and  full  of  fine  meadows;  hence  they  could 
perceive  at  a  distance  before  them  some  Indians,  on 
the  top  of  a  mountain,  near  the  way  by  which  they 
were  to  pass:  they  sent  fifty  men,  the  nimblest  they 
had,  to  try  to  catch  any  of  them,  and  force  them  to 
discover  their  companions:  but  all  in  vain;  for  they 
escaped  by  their  nimbleness,  and  presently  showed 
themselves  in  another  place,  hallooing  to  the  Eng- 
lish and  crying,  "A  la  savana,  a  la  savana,  perros 
Inglescs!"  that  is,  "To  the  plain,  to  the  plain,  ye 
English  dogs!"  Meanwhile  the  ten  pirates  that 
were  wounded  were  dressed,  and  plastered  up. 

Here  was  a  wood,  and  on  each  side  a  mountain. 
The  Indians  possessed  themselves  of  one,  and  the 
pirates  of  the  other.  Captain  Morgan  was  per- 
suaded the  Spaniards  had  placed  an  ambuscade 
there,  it  lying  so  conveniently;  hereupon,  he  sent 
two  hundred  men  to  search  it.  The  Spaniards  and 
Indians  perceiving  the  pirates  descended  the  moun- 
tain, did  so  too,  as  if  they  designed  to  attack  them; 
but  being  got  into  the  wood,  out  of  sight  of  the 
pirates,  they  were  seen  no  more,  leaving  the  passage 
open. 

About  night  fell  a  great  rain,  which  caused  the 
pirates  to  march  the  faster,  and  seek  for  houses 
to  preserve  their  arms  from  being  wet;  but  the  In- 
dians had  set  fire  to  every  one,  and  driven  away 
all  their  cattle,  that  the  pirates,  finding  neither 
houses  nor  victuals,  might  be  constrained  to  return: 
but,   after  diligent  search,  they  found  a  few  shep- 


i 


THE  CAPTURE  OF  PANAMA,   1671      33 

herds'  huts,  but  in  them  nothing  to  eat.  These  not 
holding  many  men,  they  placed  in  them,  out  of  every 
company,  a  small  number,  who  kept  the  arms  of 
the  rest:  those  who  remained  in  the  open  field  en- 
dured much  hardship  that  night,  the  rain  not  ceas- 
ing till  morning. 

Next  morning,  about  the  break  of  day,  being  the 
ninth  of  that  tedious  journey,  Captain  Morgan 
marched  on  while  the  fresh  air  of  the  morning 
lasted;  for  the  clouds  hanging  yet  over  their  heads, 
were  much  more  favorable  than  the  scorching  rays 
of  the  sun,  the  way  being  now  more  difficult  than 
before.  After  two  hours'  march,  they  discovered 
about  twenty  Spaniards,  who  observed  their  mo- 
tions :  they  endeavored  to  catch  some  of  them,  but 
could  not,  they  suddenly  disappearing,  and  abscond- 
ing themselves  in  caves  among  the  rocks  unknown 
to  the  pirates.  At  last,  ascending  a  high  mountain, 
they  discovered  the  South  Sea.  This  happy  sight, 
as  if  it  were  the  end  of  their  labors,  caused  infinite 
joy  among  them :  hence  they  could  descry  also  one 
ship,  and  six  boats,  which  were  set  forth  from 
Panama,  and  sailed  towards  the  islands  of  Tavoga 
and  Tavogilla :  then  they  came  to  a  vale  where  they 
found  much  cattle,  whereof  they  killed  good  store : 
here,  while  some  killed  and  flayed  cows,  horses, 
bulls,  and  chiefly  asses,  of  which  there  were  most; 
others  kindled  fires,  and  got  wood  to  roast  them: 
then  cutting  the  flesh  into  convenient  pieces,  or  gob- 
bets, they  threw  them  into  the  fire,  and,  half  car- 


34  GREAT  PIRATE  STORIES 

bonadocd  or  roasted,  they  devoured  them,  with  in- 
credible haste  and  appetite.  Such  was  their  hunger, 
that  they  more  resembled  cannibals  than  Europeans; 
the  blood  many  times  running  down  from  their 
beards  to  their  waists. 

Having  satisfietl  their  hunger,  Captain  Morgan 
ordered  them  to  continue  the  march.  Here,  again, 
he  sent  before  the  main  body  fifty  men  to  take  some 
prisoners,  if  they  could;  for  he  was  much  concerned, 
that  in  nine  days  he  could  not  meet  one  person  to  in- 
form him  of  the  condition  and  forces  of  the  Span- 
iards. About  evening  they  discovered  about  two 
hundred  Spaniards,  who  hallooed  to  the  pirates,  but 
they  understood  not  what  they  said.  A  little  while 
after  they  came  in  sight  of  the  highest  steeple  of 
Panama:  this  they  no  sooner  discovered  but  they 
showed  signs  of  extreme  joy,  casting  up  their  hats 
into  the  air,  leaping  and  shouting,  just  as  if  they 
had  already  obtained  the  victory,  and  accomplished 
their  designs.  All  their  trumpets  sounded,  and 
drums  beat,  in  token  of  this  alacrity  of  their 
minds.  Thus  they  pitched  their  camp  for  that  night, 
with  general  content  of  the  whole  army,  waiting 
with  impatience  for  the  morning,  when  they  intended 
to  attack  the  city.  This  evening  appeared  fifty 
horses,  who  came  out  of  the  city,  on  the  noise  of 
the  drums  and  trumpets,  to  observe,  as  it  was 
thought,  their  motions:  they  came  almost  within 
musket-shot  of  the  army,  with  a  trumpet  that 
sounded   marvelously   well.      Those    on   horseback 


THE  CAPTURE  OF  PANAMA,  1671     35 

hallooed  aloud  to  the  pirates,  and  threatened  them, 
saying,  "Perros!  nos  veremos,"  that  is,  "Ye  dogs! 
we  shall  meet  ye."  Having  made  this  menace,  they 
returned  to  the  city,  except  only  seven  or  eight 
horsemen,  who  hovered  thereabouts  to  watch  their 
motions.  Immediately  after  the  city  fired,  and 
ceased  not  to  play  their  biggest  guns  all  night  long 
against  the  camp,  but  with  little  or  no  harm  to  the 
pirates,  whom  they  could  not  easily  reach.  Now 
also  the  two  hundred  Spaniards,  whom  the  pirates 
had  seen  in  the  afternoon,  appeared  again,  making 
a  show  of  blocking  up  the  passages,  that  no  pirates 
might  escape  their  hands :  but  the  pirates,  though  in 
a  manner  besieged,  instead  of  fearing  their  block- 
ades, as  soon  as  they  had  placed  sentinels  about  their 
camp,  opened  their  satchels,  and,  without  any  nap- 
kins or  plates,  fell  to  eating,  very  heartily,  the 
pieces  of  bulls'  and  horses'  flesh  which  they  had  re- 
served since  noon.  This  done,  they  laid  themselves 
down  to  sleep  on  the  grass,  with  great  repose  and 
satisfaction,  expecting  only,  with  impatience,  the 
dawning  of  the  next  day. 

The  tenth  day.,  betimes  in  the  morning,  they  put 
all  their  men  in  order,  and,  with  drums  and  trum- 
pets sounding,  marched  directly  towards  the  city; 
but  one  of  the  guides  desired  Captain  Morgan  not 
to  take  the  common  highway,  .lest  they  should  find 
in  it  many  ambuscades.  He  took  his  advice,  and 
chose  another  way  through  the  wood,  though  very 
irksome  and  difficult.    The  Spaniards  perceiving  th'^' 


36  GREAT  PIRATE  STORIES 

pirates  had  taken  another  way  they  scarce  had 
thought  on,  were  compelled  to  leave  their  stops  and 
batteries,  and  come  out  to  meet  them.  The  gover- 
nor of  Panama  put  his  forces  In  order,  consisting 
of  two  squadrons,  four  regiments  of  foot,  and  a 
huge  number  of  wild  bulls,  which  were  driven  by  a 
great  number  of  Indians,  with  some  negroes,  and 
others,  to  help  them. 

The  pirates,  now  upon  their  march,  came  to  the 
top  of  a  little  hill,  whence  they  had  a  large  pros- 
pect of  the  city  and  champaign  country  underneath. 
Here  they  discovered  the  forces  of  the  people  of 
Panama,  in  battle  array,  to  be  so  numerous,  that 
they  were  surprised  with  fear,  much  doubting  the 
fortune  of  the  day:  yea,  few  or  none  there  were  but 
wished  themselves  at  home,  or  at  least  free  from 
obligation  of  that  engagement,  it  so  nearly  con- 
cerning their  lives.  Having  been  some  time  waver- 
ing in  their  minds,  they  at  last  reflected  on  the 
straits  they  had  brought  themselves  into,  and  that 
now  they  must  either  fight  resolutely,  or  die;  for 
no  quarter  could  be  expected  from  an  enemy  on 
whom  they  had  committed  so  many  cruelties.  Here- 
upon they  encouraged  one  another,  resolving  to  con- 
quer, or  spend  the  last  drop  of  blood.  Then  thev 
divided  themselves  into  three  battalions,  sending 
before  two  hundred  buccaneers,  who  were  very  dex- 
trous at  their  guns.  Then  descending  the  hill,  they 
marched  directly  towards  the  Spaniards,  who  in  a 
spacious  field  waited  for  their  coming.    As  soon  as 


THE  CAPTURE  OF  PANAMA,   1671      37 

they  drew  nigh,  the  Spaniards  began  to  shout  and 
cry,  "Viva  el  rey!"  "God  save  the  king!"  and  im- 
mediately their  horse  moved  against  the  pirates: 
but  the  fields  being  full  of  quags,  and  soft  under- 
foot, they  could  not  wheel  about  as  they  desired. 
The  two  hundred  buccaneers,  who  went  before,  each 
putting  one  knee  to  the  ground,  began  to  battle 
briskly,  with  a  full  volley  of  shot:  the  Spaniards 
defended  themselves  courageously,  doing  all  they 
could  to  disorder  the  pirates.  Their  foot  endeav- 
ored to  second  the  horse,  but  were  forced  by  the  fire 
of  the  pirates  to  retreat.  Finding  themselves  baf- 
fled, they  attempted  to  drive  the  bulls  against  them 
behind,  to  put  them  into  disorder;  but  the  wild  cat- 
tle ran  away,  frighted  with  the  noise  of  the  battle. 
Only  some  few  broke  through  the  English  com- 
panies, and  only  tore  the  colors  in  pieces,  while  the 
buccaneers  shot  every  one  of  them  dead. 

The  battle  having  continued  two  hours,  the  great- 
est part  of  the  Spanish  horse  was  ruined,  and  almost 
all  killed:  the  rest  fled,  which  the  foot  seeing,  and 
that  they  could  not  possibly  prevail,  they  discharged 
the  shot  they  had  in  their  muskets,  and  throwing 
them  down,  fled  away,  every  one  as  he  could.  The 
pirates  could  not  follow  them,  being  too  much 
harassed  and  wearied  with  their  long  journey. 
Many,  not  being  able  to  fly  whither  they  desired, 
hid  themselves,  for  that  present,  among  the  shrubs 
of  the  sea-side,  but  very  unfortunately;  for  most  of 
them   being   found   by   the   pirates,   were   instantly 


38  GREAT  PIRATE  STORIES 

klllccl,  without  any  quarter.  Some  religious  men 
were  brought  prisoners  before  Captain  Morgan;  bu 
he,  being  deaf  to  tlieir  cries,  commanded  them  all 
to  be  pistoled,  which  was  done.  Soon  after  they 
brought  a  captain  to  him,  whom  he  examined  very 
strictly;  particularly,  wherein  consisted  the  forces  of 
those  of  Panama?  lie  answered,  their  whole 
strength  consisted  in  four  hundred  horse,  twenty- 
four  companies  of  foot,  each  one  hundred  men 
complete;  sixty  Indians,  and  some  negroes,  who  were 
to  drive  two  thousand  wild  bulls  upon  the  English, 
and  thus,  by  breaking  their  files,  put  them  into  a  to- 
tal disorder:  beside,  that  in  the  city  they  had  made 
trenches,  and  raised  batteries  in  several  places,  in 
all  which  they  had  placed  many  guns;  and  that  at 
the  entry  of  the  highway,  leading  to  the  city,  they 
had  built  a  fort  mounted  with  eight  great  brass 
guns,  defended  by  fifty  men. 

Captain  Morgan  having  heard  this,  gave  orders 
instantly  to  march  another  way;  but  first  he  made  a 
review  of  his  men,  whereof  he  found  both  killed  and 
wounded  a  considerable  number,  and  much  greater 
than  had  been  believed.  Of  the  Spaniards  were 
found  six  hundred  dead  on  the  place,  besides  the 
wounded  and  prisoners.  The  pirates,  nothing  dis- 
couraged, seeing  their  number  so  diminished,  but 
rather  filled  with  greater  pride,  perceiving  what 
huge  advantage  they  had  obtained  against  their  ene- 
mies, having  rested  some  time,  prepared  to  march 
courageously  towards  the  city,  plighting  their  oaths 


THE  CAPTURE  OF  PANAMA,   1671      39 

to  one  another,  that  they  would  fight  till  not  a  man 
was  left  alive.  With  this  courage  they  recom- 
menced their  march,  either  to  conquer  or  be  con- 
quered; carrying  with  them  all  the  prisoners. 

They  found  much  difficulty  in  their  approach  to 
the  city,  for  within  the  town  the  Spaniards  had 
placed  many  great  guns,  at  several  quarters,  some 
charged  with  small  pieces  of  iron,  and  others  with 
musket  bullets.  With  all  these  they  saluted  the  pi- 
rates at  their  approaching,  and  gave  them  full  and 
frequent  broadsides,  firing  at  them  incessantly;  so 
that  unavoidably  they  lost  at  every  step  great  num- 
bers of  men.  But  not  these  manifest  dangers  of 
their  lives,  nor  the  sight  of  so  many  as  dropped  con- 
tinually at  their  sides,  could  deter  them  from  ad- 
vancing, and  gaining  ground  every  moment  on  the 
enemy;  and  though  the  Spaniards  never  ceased  to 
fire,  and  act  the  best  they  could  for  their  defense, 
yet  they  were  forced  to  yield,  after  three  hours' 
combat.  And  the  pirates  having  possessed  them- 
selves at  last  of  the  city,  killed  all  that  attempted  in 
the  least  to  oppose  them.  The  inhabitants  had 
transported  the  best  of  their  goods  to  more  remote 
and  secret  places;  howbeit,  they  found  in  the  city 
several  warehouses  well  stocked  with  merchandise, 
as  well  silks  and  cloths,  as  linen  and  other  things 
of  value.  As  soon  as  the  first  fury  of  their  en- 
trance was  over.  Captain  Morgan  assembled  his 
men,  and  commanded  them,  under  great  penalties, 
not  to  drink  or  taste  any  wine;  and  the  reason  he 


40         (jI<i:ai'  pi  rati-:  stories 

gave  for  it  was,  because  he  had  intelligence  that  it 
was  all  poisoned  by  the  Spaniards.  Howbeit,  it 
was  thought  he  gave  these  prudent  orders  to  pre- 
vent the  debauchery  of  his  people,  which  he  foresaw 
would  be  very  great  at  the  first,  after  so  much  hun- 
'ger  sustained  by  the  way;  fearing,  withal,  lest  the 
Spaniards,  seeing  them  in  wine,  should  rally,  and, 
falling  on  the  city,  use  them  as  inhumanly  as  they 
had  used  the  inhabitants  before. 

Captain  Morgan,  as  soon  as  he  had  placed  neces- 
sary guards  at  several  quarters  within  and  without 
the  city,  commanded  twenty-five  men  to  seize  a  great 
boat,  which  had  stuck  in  the  mud  of  the  port,  for 
want  of  water,  at  a  low  tide.  The  same  day  about 
noon,  he  caused  fire  privately  to  be  set  to  several 
great  edifices  of  the  city,  nobody  knowing  who  were 
the  authors  thereof,  much  less  on  what  motives 
Captain  Morgan  did  it,  which  are  unknown  to  this 
day:  the  fire  increased  so,  that  before  night  the 
greatest  part  of  the  city  was  in  a  flame.  Captain 
Morgan  pretended  the  Spaniards  had  done  it,  per- 
ceiving that  his  own  people  reflected  on  him  for  that 
action.  Many  of  the  Spaniards,  and  some  of  the 
pirates,  did  what  they  could,  either  to  quench  the 
flames  or  by  blowing  up  houses  with  gunpowder, 
and  pulling  down  others  to  stop  it,  but  in  vain :  for 
in  less  than  half  an  hour  it  consumed  a  whole  street. 
All  the  houses  of  the  city  were  built  with  cedar, 
very  curious  and  magnificent,  and  richly  adorned, 
especially  with  hangings  and  paintings,  whereof  part 


THE  CAPTURE  OF  PANAMA,  1671     41 

were  before  removed,  but  another  great  part  were 
consumed  by  fire. 

There  were  in  this  city  (which  is  the  see  of  a 
bishop)  eight  monasteries,  seven  for  men,  and  one 
for  women;  two  stately  churches,  and  one  hospital. 
The  churches  and  monasteries  were  all  richly 
adorned  with  altar-pieces  and  paintings,  much  gold 
and  silver,  and  other  precious  things,  all  which  the 
ecclesiastics  had  hidden.  Besides  which,  here  were 
two  thousand  houses  of  magnificent  building,  the 
greatest  part  inhabited  by  merchants  vastly  rich. 
For  the  rest  of  less  quality,  and  tradesmen,  this 
city  contained  five  thousand  more.  Here  were  also 
many  stables  for  the  horses  and  mules  that  carry 
the  plate  of  the  king  of  Spain,  as  well  as  private 
men,  towards  the  North  Sea.  The  neighboring 
fields  were  full  of  fertile  plantations  and  pleasant 
gardens,  affording  delicious  prospects  to  the  in- 
habitants all  the  year. 

The  Genoese  had  in  this  city  a  stately  house  for 
their  trade  of  negroes.  This  likewise  was  by  Cap- 
tain Morgan  burnt  to  the  very  ground.  Besides 
which  building,  there  were  consumed  two  hundred 
warehouses,  and  many  slaves,  who  had  hid  them- 
selves therein,  with  innumerable  sacks  of  meal;  the 
fire  of  which  continued  four  weeks  after  it  had  be- 
gun. The  greatest  part  of  the  pirates  still  en- 
camped without  the  city,  fearing  and  expecting  the 
Spaniards  would  come  and  fight  them  anew,  it  being 
known  they  much  outnumbered  the  pirates.     This 


42  (iRF.AT  IMRATK  STORIES 

made  them  keep  the  field,  to  preserve  their  forces 
united,  now  much  diminished  by  their  losses.  Their 
wounded,  which  were  many,  they  put  Into  one  church, 
which  remained  standinj^,  the  rest  being  consumed 
by  the  fire.  Besides  these  decreases  of  his  men. 
Captain  Morgan  had  sent  a  convoy  of  one  hundred 
and  fifty  men  to  the  castle  of  Chagre,  to  carry  the 
news  of  his  victory  at  Panama. 

They  saw  often  whole  troops  of  Spaniards  run 
to  and  fro  in  the  fields,  which  made  them  suspect 
their  rallying,  which  they  never  had  the  courage  to 
do.  In  the  afternoon  Captain  Morgan  reentered 
the  city  with  his  troops,  that  every  one  might  take 
up  their  lodgings,  which  now  they  could  hardly  find, 
few  houses  having  escaped  the  fire.  Then  they 
sought  very  carefully  among  the  ruins  and  ashes, 
for  utensils  of  plate  or  gold,  that  were  not  quite 
wasted  by  the  flames:  and  of  such  they  found  no 
small  number,  especially  in  wells  and  cisterns,  where 
the  Spaniards  had  hid  them. 

Next  day  Captain  Morgan  dispatched  away  two 
troops,  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  men  each,  stout 
and  well  armed,  to  seek  for  the  inhabitants  who 
were  escaped.  These  having  made  several  excur- 
sions up  and  down  the  fields,  woods,  and  mountains 
adjacent,  returned  after  two  days,  bringing  above 
two  hundred  prisoners,  men,  women,  and  slaves. 
The  same  day  returned  also  the  boat  which  Cap- 
tain Morgan  had  sent  to  the  South  Sea,  bringing 
three  other  boats  which  they  had  taken.     But  all 


THE  CAPTURE  OF  PANAMA,   1671     43 

these  prizes  they  could  willingly  have  given,  and 
greater  labor  Into  the  bargain,  for  one  galleon, 
which  miraculously  escaped,  richly  laden  with  all 
the  king's  plate,  jewels,  and  other  precious  goods 
of  the  best  and  richest  merchants  of  Panama :  on 
board  which  were  also  the  religious  women  of  the 
nunnery,  who  had  embarked  with  them  all  the  orna- 
ments of  their  church,  consisting  In  much  gold,  plate, 
and  other  things  of  great  value. 

The  strength  of  this  galleon  was  Inconsiderable, 
having  only  seven  guns,  and  ten  or  twelve  muskets, 
and  very  111  provided  with  victuals,  necessaries,  and 
fresh  water,  having  no  more  sails  than  the  upper- 
most of  the  mainmast.  This  account  the  pirates 
received  from  some  one  who  had  spoken  with  seven 
mariners  belonging  to  the  galleon,  who  came  ashore 
in  the  cockboat  for  fresh  water.  Hence  they  con- 
cluded they  might  easily  have  taken  it,  had  they 
given  her  chase,  as  they  should  have  done;  but  they 
were  Impeded  from  following  this  vastly  rich  prize, 
by  their  gluttony  and  drunkenness,  having  plentifully 
debauched  themselves  with  several  rich  wines  they 
found  ready,  choosing  rather  to  satiate  their  appe- 
tites than  to  lay  hold  on  such  huge  advantage;  since 
this  one  prize  would  have  been  of  far  greater  value 
than  all  they  got  at  Panama,  and  the  places  there- 
about. Next  day,  repenting  of  their  negligence,  be- 
ing weary  of  their  vices  and  debaucheries,  they  set 
forth  another  boat,  well  armed,  to  pursue  with  all 
speed  the  said  galleon;  but  in  vain,  the  Spaniards 


44  GREAT  PIRATE  STORIES 

who  were  on  hoard  having  had  Intelligence  of  their 
own  danger  one  or  two  days  hefore,  while  the  pirates 
were  cruising  so  near  them;  whereupon  they  fled  to 
places  more  remote  and  unknown. 

The  pirates  fount!,  in  the  ports  of  the  island  of 
Tavoga  and  Tavogilla,  several  hoats  laden  with 
very  good  merchandise;  all  which  they  took,  and 
brought  to  Panama,  where  they  made  an  exact  re- 
lation of  all  that  had  passed  to  Captain  Morgan. 
The  prisoners  confirmed  what  the  pirates  said,  add- 
ing, that  they  undoubtedly  knew  where  the  galleon 
might  then  be,  but  that  it  was  very  probable  they 
had  been  relieved  before  now  from  other  places. 
This  stirred  up  Captain  Morgan  anew,  to  send  forth 
all  the  boats  in  the  port  of  Panama  to  seek  the  said 
galleon  till  they  could  find  her.  These  boats,  being 
in  all  four,  after  eight  days'  cruising  to  and  fro,  and 
searching  several  ports  and  creeks,  lost  all  hopes  of 
finding  her,  whereupon  they  returned  to  Tavoga  and 
Tavogilla.  Here  they  found  a  reasonable  good  ship 
newly  come  from  Payta,  laden  with  cloth,  soap, 
sugar,  and  biscuit,  with  20,000  pieces  of  eight.  This 
they  instantly  seized,  without  the  least  resistance; 
as  also  a  boat  which  was  not  far  off,  on  which  they 
laded  great  part  of  the  merchandises  from  the  ship, 
with  some  slaves.  With  this  spoil  they  returned 
to  Panama,  somewhat  better  satisfied;  yet,  withal, 
much  discontented  that  they  could  not  meet  with  the 
galleon. 

The  convoy  which  Captain  Morgan  had  sent  to 


THE  CAPTURE  OF  PANAMA,   1671     45 

the  castle  of  Chagre  returned  much  about  the  same 
time,  bringing  with  them  very  good  news;  for  while 
Captain  Morgan  was  on  his  journey  to  Panama, 
those  he  had  left  in  the  castle  of  Chagre  had  sent  for 
two  boats  to  cruise.  These  met  with  a  Spanish 
ship,  which  they  chased  within  sight  of  the  castle. 
This  being  perceived  by  the  pirates  in  the  castle, 
they  put  forth  Spanish  colors,  to  deceive  the  ship 
that  fled  before  the  boats;  and  the  poor  Spaniards, 
thinking  to  take  refuge  under  the  castle,  were  caught 
in  a  snare,  and  made  prisoners.  The  cargo  on  board 
the  said  vessel  consisted  in  victuals  and  provisions, 
than  which  nothing  could  be  more  opportune  for  the 
castle,  where  they  began  already  to  want  things  of 
this  kind. 

This  good  luck  of  those  of  Chagre  caused  Cap- 
tain Morgan  to  stay  longer  at  Panama,  ordering 
several  new  excursions  into  the  country  round  about; 
and  while  the  pirates  at  Panama  were  upon  these 
expeditions,  those  at  Chagre  were  busy  in  piracies 
on  the  North  Sea.  Captain  Morgan  sent  forth, 
daily,  parties  of  two  hundred  men,  to  make  inroads 
into  all  the  country  round  about;  and  when  one 
party  came  back,  another  went  forth,  who  soon 
gathered  much  riches,  and  many  prisoners.  These 
being  brought  into  the  city,  were  put  to  the  most 
exquisite  tortures,  to  make  them  confess  both  other 
people's  goods  and  their  own.  Here  it  happened 
that  one  poor  wretch  was  found  in  the  house  of  a 
person  of  quality,  who  had  put  on,  amidst  the  con- 


46  GREAT  1>IRATE  STORIES 

fusion,  a  pair  of  taffcty  breeches  of  his  master's, 
with  a  little  silver  key  hanging  out;  perceiving  which, 
they  asked  him  for  the  cabinet  of  the  said  key.  Elis 
answer  was,  he  knew  not  what  was  become  of  it, 
but  that  finding  those  breeches  in  his  master's  house, 
he  had  made  bold  to  wear  them.  Not  being  able 
to  get  any  other  answer,  they  put  him  on  the  rack, 
and  inhumanly  disjointed  his  arms;  then  they  twisted 
a  cord  about  his  forehead,  which  they  wrung  so  hard 
that  his  eyes  appeared  as  big  as  eggs,  and  were  ready 
to  fall  out.  But  with  these  torments  not  obtaining 
any  positive  answer,  they  hung  him  up  by  the  wrists, 
giving  him  many  blows  and  stripes  under  that  in- 
tolerable pain  and  posture  of  body.  Afterwards 
they  cut  off  his  nose  and  ears,  and  singed  his  face 
with  burning  straw,  till  he  could  not  speak,  nor 
lament  his  misery  any  longer:  then,  losing  all  hopes 
of  any  confession,  they  bade  a  negro  to  run  him 
through,  which  put  an  end  to  his  life,  and  to  their 
inhuman  tortures.  Thus  did  many  others  of  those 
miserable  prisoners  finish  their  days,  the  common 
sport  and  recreation  of  these  pirates  being  such 
tragedies. 

Captain  Morgan  having  now  been  at  Panama  full 
three  weeks,  commanded  all  things  to  be  prepared 
for  his  departure.  He  ordered  every  company  of 
men  to  seek  so  many  beasts  of  carriage  as  might 
convey  the  spoil  to  the  river  where  his  canoes  lay. 
About  this  time  there  was  a  great  rumor,  that  a 
considerable  number  of  pirates  intended   to  leave 


THE  CAPTURE  OF  PANAMA,  1671     47 

Captain  Morgan;  and  that,  taking  a  ship  then  in 
port,  they  determined  to  go  and  rob  on  the  South 
Sea,  till  they  had  got  as  much  as  they  thought  fit, 
and  then  return  homewards,  by  way  of  the  East 
Indies.  For  which  purpose  they  had  gathered  much 
provisions,  which  they  had  hid  in  private  places, 
with  sufficient  powder,  bullets,  and  all  other  ammuni- 
tion :  likewise  some  great  guns  belonging  to  the  town, 
muskets,  and  other  things,  wherewith  they  designed 
not  only  to  equip  their  vessel,  but  to  fortify  them- 
selves in  some  island  which  might  serve  them  for  a 
place  of  refuge. 

This  design  had  certainly  taken  effect,  had  not 
Captain  Morgan  had  timely  advice  of  it  from  one 
of  their  comrades;  hereupon  he  commanded  the 
mainmast  of  the  said  ship  to  be  cut  down  and  burnt, 
with  all  the  other  boats  In  the  port:  hereby  the  in- 
tentions of  all  or  most  of  his  companions  were 
totally  frustrated.  Then  Captain  Morgan  sent 
many  of  the  Spaniards  into  the  adjoining  fields  and 
country  to  seek  for  money,  to  ransom  not  only  them- 
selves, but  the  rest  of  the  prisoners,  as  likewise  the 
ecclesiastics.  Moreover,  he  commanded  all  the  ar- 
tillery of  the  town  to  be  nailed  and  stopped  up.  At 
the  same  time  he  sent  out  a  strong  company  of  men 
to  seek  for  the  governor  of  Panama,  of  whom  in- 
telligence was  brought,  that  he  had  laid  several  am- 
buscades in  the  way  by  which  he  ought  to  return :  but 
they  returned  soon  after,  saying  they  had  not  found 
any  sign  of  any  such   ambuscades.     For  confirma- 


48  GREAT  PIRATE  STORIES 

tlon  whereof,  they  hrought  some  prisoners,  who  de- 
clared that  the  said  governor  had  had  an  intention 
of  making  some  opposition  by  the  way,  but  that  the 
men  designed  to  effect  it  were  unwilling  to  undertake 
it:  so  that  for  want  of  means  he  could  not  put  his 
design  in  execution. 

February  24,  1671,  Captain  Morgan  departed 
from  Panama,  or  rather  from  the  place  where  the 
city  of  Panama  stood;  of  the  spoils  whereof  he  car- 
ried with  him  one  hundred  and  seventy-five  beasts 
of  carriage,  laden  with  silver,  gold,  and  other  pre- 
cious things,  beside  about  six  hundred  prisoners,  men, 
women,  children  and  slaves.  That  day  they  came 
to  a  river  that  passes  through  a  delicious  plain,  a 
league  from  Panama:  here  Captain  Morgan  put  all 
his  forces  into  good  order,  so  as  that  the  prisoners 
were  in  the  middle,  surrounded  on  all  sides  with 
pirates,  where  nothing  else  was  to  be  heard  but  la- 
mentations, cries,  shrieks,  and  doleful  sighs  of  so 
many  women  and  children,  who  feared  Captain  Mor- 
gan designed  to  transport  them  all  into  his  own 
country  for  slaves.  Besides,  all  those  miserable  prison- 
ers endured  extreme  hunger  and  thirst  at  that  time, 
which  misery  Captain  Morgan  designedly  caused 
them  to  sustain,  to  excite  them  to  seek  for  money  to 
ransom  themselves,  according  to  the  tax  he  had  set 
upon  every  one.  Many  of  the  women  begged  Cap- 
tain Morgan,  on  their  knees,  with  infinite  sighs  and 
tears,  to  let  them  return  to  Panama,  there  to  live 
with  their  dear  husbands  and  children  in  little  huts 


i 


THE  CAPTURE  OF  PANAMA,  1671     49 

of  straw,  which  they  would  erect,  seeing  they  had 
no  houses  till  the  rebuilding  of  the  city.  But  his 
answer  was,  "He  came  not  thither  to  hear  lamenta- 
tions and  cries,  but  to  seek  money:  therefore  they 
ought  first  to  seek  out  that,  wherever  it  was  to  be 
had,  and  bring  it  to  him;  otherwise  he  would  as- 
suredly transport  them  all  to  such  places  whither 
they  cared  not  to  go." 

Next  day,  when  the  march  began,  those  lament- 
able cries  and  shrieks  were  renewed,  so  as  it  would 
have  caused  compassion  in  the  hardest  heart:  but 
Captain  Morgan,  as  a  man  little  given  to  mercy, 
Vv'as  not  moved  in  the  least.  They  marched  in  the 
same  order  as  before,  one  party  of  the  pirates  in 
the  van,  the  prisoners  in  the  middle,  and  the  rest  of 
the  pirates  in  the  rear;  by  whom  the  miserable  Span- 
iards were  at  every  step  punched  and  thrust  in  their 
backs  and  sides,  with  the  blunt  ends  of  their  arms, 
to  make  them  march  faster. 

A  beautiful  lady,  wife  to  one  of  the  richest  mer- 
chants of  Tavoga,  was  led  prisoner  by  herself,  be- 
tween two  pirates.  Her  lamentations  pierced  the 
skies,  seeing  herself  carried  away  into  captivity  often 
cr}'ing  to  the  pirates,  and  telling  them,  "That  she 
had  given  orders  to  two  religious  persons,  in  whom 
she  had  relied,  to  go  to  a  certain  place,  and  fetch 
so  much  money  as  her  ransom  did  amount  to;  that 
they  had  promised  faithfully  to  do  it,  but  having 
obtained  the  money,  instead  of  bringing  it  to  her, 
they  had  employed  it  another  way,  to  ransom  some 


50  GREAT  PIRATr:  STORIES 

of  their  own,  and  particular  friends."  This  ill  ac- 
tion of  theirs  was  discovered  by  a  slave,  who  brought 
a  letter  to  the  said  lady.  I  ler  complaints,  and  the 
cause  thereof,  being  brought  to  Captain  Morgan, 
he  thought  fit  to  inquire  thereinto.  I  laving  found  it 
to  be  true — especially  hearing  it  confirmed  by  the 
confession  of  the  said  religious  men,  though  under 
some  frivolous  excuses  of  having  diverted  the 
money  but  for  a  day  or  two,  in  which  time  they  ex- 
pected more  sums  to  repay  it — he  gave  liberty  to 
the  said  lady,  whom  otherwise  he  designed  to  trans- 
port to  Jamaica.  But  he  detained  the  said  religious 
men  as  prisoners  in  her  place,  using  them  according 
to  their  desserts. 

Captain  Morgan  arriving  at  the  town  called  Cruz, 
on  the  banks  of  the  river  Chagre,  he  published  an 
order  among  the  prisoners,  that  within  three  days 
every  one  should  bring  in  their  ransom,  under  the 
penalty  of  being  transported  to  Jamaica.  Mean- 
while he  gave  orders  for  so  much  rice  and  maize  to 
be  collected  thereabouts,  as  was  necessary  for  vic- 
tualing his  ships.  Here  some  of  the  prisoners  were 
ransomed,  but  many  others  could  not  bring  in  their 
money.  Hereupon  he  continued  his  voyage,  leaving 
the  village  on  the  5th  of  March  following,  carr}'ing 
with  him  all  the  spoil  he  could.  Hence  he  likewise 
led  away  some  new  prisoners,  inhabitants  there,  with 
those  In  Panama,  who  had  not  paid  their  ransoms. 
But  the  two  religious  men,  who  had  diverted  the 
lady's  money,  were  ransomed  three  days  after  by 


THE  CAPTURE  OF  PANAMA,  1671     51 

other  persons,  who  had  more  compassion  for  them 
than  they  had  showed  for  her. 

About  the  middle  of  the  way  to  Chagre,  Captain 
Morgan  commanded  them  to  be  mustered,  and 
caused  every  one  to  be  sworn,  that  they  had  con- 
cealed nothing,  even  not  to  the  value  of  sixpence. 
This  done.  Captain  Morgan  knowing  those  lewd  fel- 
lows would  not  stick  to  swear  falsely  for  interest,  he 
commanded  every  one  to  be  searched  very  strictly, 
both  in  their  clothes  and  satchels,  and  elsewhere. 
Yea,  that  this  order  might  not  be  ill  taken  by  his 
companions,  he  permitted  himself  to  be  searched, 
even  to  his  very  shoes.  To  this  effect,  by  common 
consent,  one  was  assigned  out  of  every  company  to 
be  searchers  of  the  rest.  The  French  pirates  that 
assisted  on  this  expedition  disliked  this  new  prac- 
tice of  searching;  but,  being  outnumbered  by  the 
English,  they  were  forced  to  submit  as  well  as  the 
rest.  The  search  being  over,  they  reembarked,  and 
arrived  at  the  castle  of  Chagre  on  the  9th  of  March. 


THE  MALAY  PROAS* 

James  Fenimoke  Cooper 

WE  had  cleared  the  Straits  of  Sunda  early 
in  the  morning,  and  had  made  a  pretty 
fair  run  in  the  course  of  the  day,  though 
most  of  the  time  in  thick  weather.  Just  as  the 
sun  set,  however,  the  horizon  became  clear,  and  we 
got  a  sight  of  two  small  sail,  seemingly  heading 
in  toward  the  coast  of  Sumatra,  proas  by  their  rig 
and  dimensions.  They  were  so  distant,  and  were 
so  evidently  steering  for  the  land,  that  no  one  gave 
them  much  thought,  or  bestowed  on  them  any  par- 
ticular attention.  Proas  in  that  quarter  were 
usually  distrusted  by  ships,  it  is  true;  but  the  sea 
is  full  of  them,  and  far  more  are  innocent  than  are 
guilty  of  any  acts  of  violence.  Then  it  became  dark 
soon  after  these  craft  were  seen,  and  night  shut 
them  in.  An  hour  after  the  sun  had  set,  the  wind 
fell  to  a  light  air,  that  just  kept  steerage-way  on 
the  ship.  Fortunately,  the  John  was  not  only  fast, 
but  she  minded  her  helm,  as  a  light-footed  girl  turns 
in  a  lively  dance.  I  never  was  in  a  better-steering 
ship,  most  especially  In  moderate  weather. 

Mr.  Marble  had  the  middle  watch  that  night,  and; 

*  From  Afloat  and  Ashore. 

52 


] 

i 


THE  MALAY  PROAS  53 

of  course,  I  was  on  deck  from  midnight  until  four 
in  the  morning.  It  proved  misty  most  of  the  watch, 
and  for  quite  an  hour  we  had  a  light  drizzling  rain. 
The  ship  the  whole  time  was  close-hauled,  carrying 
royals.  As  everybody  seemed  to  have  made  up 
his  mind  to  a  quiet  night,  one  without  any  reefing 
or  furling,  most  of  the  watch  were  sleeping  about 
the  decks,  or  wherever  they  could  get  good  quarters, 
and  be  least  in  the  way.  I  do  not  know  what  kept 
me  awake,  for  lads  of  my  age  are  apt  to  get  all 
the  sleep  they  can;  but  I  believe  I  was  thinking  of 
Clawbonny,  and  Grace,  and  Lucy;  for  the  latter, 
excellent  girl  as  she  was,  often  crossed  my  mind 
in  those  days  of  youth  and  comparative  innocence. 
Awake  I  was,  and  walking  in  the  weather-gangway, 
in  a  sailor's  trot.  Mr.  Marble,  he  I  do  believe 
was  fairly  snoozing  on  the  hen-coops,  being,  like 
the  sails,  as  one  might  say,  barely  "asleep."  At 
that  moment  I  heard  a  noise,  one  familiar  to  sea- 
men; that  of  an  oar  falling  in  a  boat.  So  com- 
pletely was  my  mind  bent  on  other  and  distant 
scenes,  that  at  first  I  felt  no  surprise,  as  if  we  were 
in  a  harbor  surrounded  by  craft  of  various  sizes, 
coming  and  going  at  all  hours.  But  a  second 
thought  destroyed  this  illusion,  and  I  looked  eagerly 
about  me.  Directly  on  our  weather-bow,  distant, 
perhaps,  a  cable's  length,  I  saw  a  small  sail,  and  I 
could  distinguish  it  sufficiently  well  to  perceive  it 
was  a  proa.  I  sang  out  "Sail  hoi  and  close 
aboard!" 


54  GREAT  PIRATE  STORIES 

Mr.  Marble  was  on  his  feet  In  an  instant.  He 
afterward  told  me  that  when  he  opened  his  eyes, 
for  he  admitted  this  much  to  me  in  confidence,  they 
fell  directly  on  the  stranger.  He  was  too  much  of 
a  seaman  to  require  a  second  look  in  order  to  ascer- 
tain what  was  to  he  done.  "Keep  the  ship  away — 
keep  her  broad  off!"  he  called  out  to  the  man  at 
the  wheel.  "Lay  the  yards  square — call  all  hands, 
one  of  you.  Captain  Robbins,  Mr.  Kite,  bear  a 
hand  up;  the  bloody  proas  arc  aboard  us!"  The 
last  part  of  this  call  was  uttered  in  a  loud  voice, 
with  the  speaker's  head  down  the  companion-way. 
It  was  heard  plainly  enough  below,  but  scarcely  at 
all  on  deck. 

In  the  meantime  everybody  was  in  motion.  It 
is  amazing  how  soon  sailors  are  wide  awake  when 
there  is  really  anything  to  do !  It  appeared  to  me 
that  all  our  people  mustered  on  deck  In  less  than 
a  minute,  most  of  them  with  nothing  on  but  their 
shirts  and  trousers.  The  ship  was  nearly  before 
the  wind  by  the  time  I  heard  the  captain's  voice; 
and  then  Mr.  Kite  came  bustling  in  among  us  for- 
ward, ordering  most  of  the  men  to  lay  aft  to  the 
braces,  remaining  himself  on  the  forecastle,  and 
keeping  me  with  him  to  let  go  the  sheets.  On  the 
forecastle,  the  strange  sail  was  no  longer  visible, 
being  now  abaft  the  beam;  but  I  could  hear  Mr. 
Marble  swearing  there  were  two  of  them,  and  that 
they  must  be  the  very  chaps  we  had  seen  to  lee- 
ward, and  standing  in  for  the  land  at  sunset.     I  also 


THE  MALAY  PROAS  55 

heard  the  captain  calling  out  to  the  steward  to 
bring  him  a  powder-horn.  Immediately  after, 
orders  were  given  to  let  fly  all  our  sheets  forward, 
and  then  I  perceived  that  they  were  wearing  ship. 
Nothing  saved  us  but  the  prompt  order  of  Mr. 
Marble  to  keep  the  ship  away,  by  which  means,  in- 
stead of  moving  toward  the  proas,  we  instantly 
began  to  move  from  them.  Although  they  went 
three  feet  to  our  two,  this  gave  us  a  moment  of 
breathing  time. 

As  our  sheets  were  all  flying  forward,  and  re- 
mained so  for  a  few  minutes,  it  gave  me  leisure  to 
look  about.  I  soon  saw  both  proas,  and  glad 
enough  was  I  to  perceive  that  they  had  not  ap- 
proached materially  nearer.  Mr.  Kite  observed 
this  also,  and  remarked  that  our  movements  had 
been  so  prompt  as  to  "take  the  rascals  aback."  He 
meant  they  did  not  exactly  know  what  we  were  at, 
and  had  not  kept  away  with  us. 

At  this  instant,  the  captain  and  five  or  six  of  the 
oldest  seamen  began  to  cast  loose  all  our  starboard, 
or  weather  guns,  four  in  all,  and  sixes.  We  had 
loaded  these  guns  in  the  Straits  of  Banca,  with 
grape  and  canister,  in  readiness  for  just  such  pirates 
as  were  now  coming  down  upon  us;  and  nothing  was 
wanting  but  the  priming  and  a  hot  loggerhead.  It 
seems  two  of  the  last  had  been  ordered  in  the  fire, 
when  we  saw  the  proas  at  sunset;  and  they  were 
now  in  excellent  condition  for  service,  live  coals 
being  kept  around  them  all  night  by  command.     I 


56  GREAT  PIRATE  STORIES 

saw  a  cluster  of  men  busy  with  the  second  gun 
from  forward,  and  could  distinguish  the  captain 
pointing  to  it. 

"Inhere  cannot  well  be  any  mistake,  Mr. 
Marble?"  the  captain  observed,  hesitating  whether 
to  fire  or  not. 

"Mistake,  sir?  Lord,  Captain  Robbins,  you 
might  cannonade  any  of  the  islands  astern  for  a 
week,  and  never  hurt  an  honest  man.  Let  'em  have 
it,  sir;  I'll  answer  for  it,  you  do  good." 

This  settled  the  matter.  The  loggerhead  was 
applied,  and  one  of  our  sixes  spoke  out  in  a  smart 
report.  A  breathless  stillness  succeeded.  The 
proas  did  not  alter  their  course,  but  neared  us  fast. 
The  captain  levelled  his  night-glass,  and  I  heard 
him  tell  Kite,  in  a  low  voice,  that  they  were  full 
of  men.  The  word  was  now  passed  to  clear  away 
all  the  guns,  and  to  open  the  arm-chest,  to  come  at 
the  muskets  and  pistols.  I  heard  the  rattling  of 
the  boarding-pikes,  too,  as  they  were  cut  adrift 
from  the  spanker-boom,  and  fell  upon  the  decks. 
All  this  sounded  very  ominous,  and  I  began  to  think 
we  should  have  a  desperate  engagement  first,  and 
then  have  all  our  throats  cut  afterward. 

I  expected  now  to  hear  the  guns  discharged  in 
quick  succession,  but  they  were  got  ready  only,  not 
fired.  Kite  went  aft,  and  returned  with  three  or 
four  muskets,  and  as  many  pikes.  He  gave  the 
latter  to  those  of  the  people  who  had  nothing  to 
do  with  the  guns.     By  this  time  the  ship  was  on 


THE  MALAY  PROAS  57 

a  wind,  steering  a  good  full,  while  the  two  proas 
were  just  abeam,  and  closing  fast.  The  stillness 
that  reigned  on  both  sides  was  like  that  of  death. 
The  proas,  however,  fell  a  little  more  astern;  the 
result  of  their  own  manoeuvering,  out  of  all  doubt, 
as  they  moved  through  the  water  much  faster  than 
the  ship,  seeming  desirous  of  dropping  into  our 
wake,  with  a  design  of  closing  under  our  stern,  and 
avoiding  our  broadside.  As  this  would  never  do, 
and  the  wind  freshened  so  as  to  give  us  four  or  five 
knot  way,  a  most  fortunate  circumstance  for  us, 
the  captain  determined  to  tack  while  he  had  room. 
The  John  behaved  beautifully,  and  came  round  like 
a  top.  The  proas  saw  there  was  no  time  to  lose, 
and  attempted  to  close  before  we  could  fill  again; 
and  this  they  would  have  done  with  ninety-nine 
ships  in  a  hundred.  The  captain  knew  his  vessel, 
however,  and  did  not  let  her  lose  her  way,  making 
everything  draw  again  as  it  might  be  by  instinct. 
The  proas  tacked,  too,  and,  laying  up  much  nearer 
to  the  wind  than  we  did,  appeared  as  if  about  to 
close  on  our  lee-bow.  The  question  was,  now, 
whether  we  could  pass  them  or  not  before  they  got 
near  enough  to  grapple.  If  the  pirates  got  on  board 
us,  we  were  hopelessly  gone;  and  everything  de- 
pended on  coolness  and  judgment.  The  captain 
behaved  perfectly  well  in  this  critical  instant,  com- 
manding a  dead  silence,  and  the  closest  attention  to 
his  orders. 

T  was  too  much  interested  at  this  moment  to  feel 


58  GREAT  PIRATE  STORIES 

the  concern  that  I  mi^ht  otherwise  have  experi- 
enced. On  the  forecastle,  it  appeared  to  us  all  that 
we  should  he  boarded  in  a  minute,  for  one  of  the 
proas  was  actually  within  a  hundred  feet,  though 
losing  her  advantage  a  little  by  getting  under  the 
lee  of  our  sails.  Kite  had  ordered  us  to  muster 
forward  of  the  rigging,  to  meet  the  expected  leap 
with  a  discharge  of  muskets,  and  then  to  present 
our  pikes,  when  I  felt  an  arm  thrown  around  my 
body,  and  was  turned  inboard,  while  another  person 
assumed  my  place.  This  was  Neb,  who  had  thus 
coolly  thrust  himself  before  me,  in  order  to  meet 
the  danger  first.  I  felt  vexed,  even  while  touched 
with  the  fellow's  attachment  and  self-devotion,  but 
had  no  time  to  betray  either  feeling  before  the 
crews  of  the  proas  gave  a  yell,  and  discharged  some 
fifty  or  sixty  matchlocks  at  us.  The  air  was  full 
of  bullets,  but  they  all  went  over  our  heads.  Not 
a  soul  on  board  the  John  was  hurt.  On  our  side, 
we  gave  the  gentlemen  the  four  sixes,  two  at  the 
nearest  and  two  at  the  stern-most  proa,  which  was 
still  near  a  cable's  length  distant.  As  often  hap- 
pens, the  one  seemingly  farthest  from  danger,  fared 
the  worst.  Our  grape  and  canister  had  room  to 
scatter,  and  I  can  at  this  distant  day  still  hear  the 
shrieks  that  arose  from  that  craft!  They  were  like 
the  yells  of  fiends  in  anguish.  The  effect  on  that 
proa  was  instantaneous;  Instead  of  keeping  on  after 
her  consort,  she  wore  short  round  on  her  heel,  and 


THE  MALAY  PROAS  59 

stood  away  in  our  wake,  on  the  other  tack,  appar- 
ently to  get  out  of  the  range  of  our  fire. 

I  doubt  if  we  touched  a  man  in  the  nearest  proa. 
At  any  rate,  no  noise  proceeded  from  her,  and  she 
came  up  under  our  bows  fast.  As  every  gun  was 
discharged,  and  there  was  not  time  to  load  them, 
all  now  depended  on  repelling  the  boarders.  Part 
of  our  people  mustered  in  the  waist,  where  it  was 
expected  the  proa  would  fall  alongside,  and  part 
on  the  forecastle.  Just  as  this  distribution  was 
made,  the  pirates  cast  their  grapnel.  It  was  admira- 
bly thrown,  but  caught  only  by  a  ratlin.  I  saw  this, 
and  was  about  to  jump  into  the  rigging  to  try  what 
I  could  do  to  clear  it,  when  Neb  again  went  ahead 
of  me,  and  cut  the  ratlin  with  his  knife.  This  was 
just  as  the  pirates  had  abandoned  sails  and  oars, 
and  had  risen  to  haul  up  alongside.  So  sudden  was 
the  release,  that  twenty  of  them  fell  over  by  their 
own  efforts.  In  this  state  the  ship  passed  ahead, 
all  her  canvas  being  full,  leaving  the  proa  motion- 
less in  her  wake.  In  passing,  however,  the  two 
vessels  were  so  near,  that  those  aft  in  the  John  dis- 
tinctly saw  the  swarthy  faces  of  their  enemies. 

We  were  no  sooner  clear  of  the  proas  than  the 
order  was  given,  "Ready  about!"  The  helm  was 
put  down,  and  the  ship  came  into  the  wind  in  a 
minute.  As  we  came  square  with  the  two  proas,  all 
our  larboard  guns  were  given  to  them,  and  this 
ended  the  affair.  I  think  the  nearest  of  the  rascals 
got  it  this  time,  for  away  she  went,  after  her  con- 


60  GREAT  PIRATE  STORIES 

sort,  both  running  off  toward  the  islands.  We 
made  a  little  show  of  chasing,  but  it  was  only  a 
feint;  for  we  were  too  glad  to  get  away  from  them, 
to  be  in  earnest.  In  ten  minutes  after  we  tacked 
the  last  time,  we  ceased  firing,  having  thrown  some 
eight  or  ten  round-shot  after  the  proas,  and  were 
close-hauled  again,  heading  to  the  southwest. 


THE  WONDERFUL  FIGHT  OF  THE 

EXCHANGE  OF  BRISTOL  WITH 

THE  PIRATES  OF  ALGIERS  * 

Samuel  Purchas 

IN  the  yeere  1621,  the  first  of  November,  there 
was  one  lohn  Rawlins,  borne  in  Rochester,  and 
dwelling  three  and  twenty  yeere  in  Plimmoth, 
imployed  to  the  Strait  of  Gibraltar-,  by  Master  Rich- 
ard, and  Steven  Treviles,  Merchants  of  Plimmoth, 
and  fraighted  In  a  Barke,  called  the  Nicholas  of 
Plimmoth,  of  the  burden  of  forty  Tun,  which  had 
also  in  her  company  another  ship  of  Plimmoth, 
called  the  George  Benaventure  of  seventy  Tun  bur- 
then, or  thereabouts;  which  by  reason  of  her  great- 
nesse  beyond  the  other,  I  will  name  the  Admirall; 
and  lohn  Rawlins  Barke  shall,  if  you  please,  be  the 
Vice-admirall.  These  two  according  to  the  time  of 
the  yeere,  had  a  f  aire  passage,  and  by  the  eighteenth 
of  the  same  moneth  came  to  a  place  at  the  entring  of 
the  straits,  named  Trafflegar:  but  the  next  morning, 
being  in  the  sight  of  Gibraltar,  at  the  very  mouth 
of  the  straits,  the  watch  descried  five  saile  of  ships, 
who  as  it  seemed,  used  all  the  means  they  could  to 
come  neere  us,  and  we  as  we  had  cause,  used  the 

*  From   Purchas,  His  Pilgrims. 

61 


62  GREAT  PIRATE  STORIES 

same  means  to  go  as  farrc  from  them :  yet  did  their 
/Idmirall  take  in  both  his  top  sailes,  that  either  we 
might  not  suspect  them,  or  tliat  his  (nvne  company 
might  come  up  the  closer  together.  At  last  perceiv- 
ing us  Christians,  they  fell  from  devices  to  apparent 
discovery  of  hostility,  and  making  out  against  us: 
we  againe  suspecting  them  Pirats,  tooke  our  course 
to  escape  from  them,  and  made  all  the  sailes  we 
possibly  could  for  Tirriff,  or  Gibraltar:  but  all  we 
could  doe,  could  not  prevent  their  approach.  For 
suddenly  one  of  them  came  right  over  against  us  to 
wind-ward,  and  so  fell  upon  our  quarter:  another 
came  upon  our  luffe,  and  so  threatened  us  there, 
and  at  last  all  five  chased  us,  making  great  speed 
to  surprise  us. 

Their  Admirall  was  called  Calif ater,  having  upon 
hermaine  top-saile,  two  top-gallant  sailes,  one  above 
another.  But  whereas  we  thought  them  all  five  to  be 
Turkish  ships  of  war,  we  afterwards  understood, 
that  two  of  them  were  their  prizes,  the  one  a  smal 
ship  of  London,  the  other  of  the  West-countrey,  that 
came  out  of  the  Quactath  laden  with  figges,  and 
other  Merchandise,  but  now  subiect  to  the  fortune 
of  the  Sea,  and  the  captivity  of  Pirats.  But  to  our 
businesse.  Three  of  these  ships  got  much  upon  us, 
and  so  much  that  ere  halfe  the  day  was  spent,  the 
Admirall  who  was  the  best  sailer,  fetcht  up  the 
George  Bonaventitre,  and  made  booty  of  it.  The 
Vice-Admirall  againe  being  neerest  unto  the  lesser 
Barke,  whereof  lohn  Raivlins  was  Master,  shewed 


THE  WONDERFUL  FIGHT  63 

him  the  force  of  a  stronger  arme,  and  by  his  Turkish 
name,  called  Villa-Rise,  commanded  him  in  like  sort 
to  strike  his  sailes,  and  submit  to  his  mercy,  which 
not  to  be  gaine-saied  nor  prevented,  was  quickly 
done :  and  so  Rawlins  with  his  Barke  was  quickly 
taken,  although  the  Reare-Admirall  being  the 
worst  sayler  of  the  three,  called  Reggiprise,  came 
not  in,  till  all  was  done. 

The  same  day  before  night,  the  Admirall  either 
loth  to  pester  himselfe  with  too  much  company,  or 
ignorant  of  the  commodity  that  was  to  be  made  by 
the  sale  of  English  prisoners,  or  daring  not  to  trust 
them  in  his  company,  for  feare  of  mutinies,  and 
exciting  others  to  rebellion;  set  twelve  persons  who 
were  in  the  George  Bonaventure  on  the  land,  and 
divers  other  English,  whom  he  had  taken  before,  to 
trie  their  fortunes  in  an  unknowne  Countrey.  But 
Villa-Rise,  the  Vice-Admirall  that  had  taken  lohn 
Rawlins,  would  not  so  dispence  with  his  men,  but 
commanded  him  and  five  more  of  his  company  to  be 
brought  aboord  his  ship,  leaving  in  his  Barke  three 
men  and  his  boy,  with  thirteene  Turkes  and  Moo?-es, 
who  were  questionlesse  sufficient  to  over-master  the 
other,  and  direct  the  Barke  to  Harbour.  Thus  they 
sailed  directly  for  Algier;  but  the  night  following, 
followed  them  with  great  tempest  and  foule 
weather,  which  ended  not  without  some  effect  of  a 
storme:  for  they  lost  the  sight  of  Rawlins  Barke, 
called  the  Nicholas,  and  in  a  manner  lost  them- 
selves,  though  they  seemed  safe   a   shipboord,   by 


64  GREAT  PIRATE  STORIES 

fcarefull  coniecturing  what  should  become  of  us:  at 
last,  by  the  two  and  twentieth  of  the  same  moneth, 
they,  or  we  (chuse  you  whether)  arrived  at  /Ilyier, 
and  came  in  safety  within  the  Mould,  but  found  not 
our  other  Barke  there;  nay,  though  we  earnestly  in- 
quired after  the  same,  yet  heard  we  nothing  to  our 
satisfaction;  but  much  matter  was  ministred  to  our 
discomfort  and  amazement.  For  although  the  Cap- 
taine  and  our  over-seers,  were  loth  we  should  have 
any  conference  with  our  Country-men;  yet  did  we 
adventure  to  informe  ourselves  of  the  present  af- 
faires, both  of  the  Towne,  and  the  shipping:  so 
that  finding  many  English  at  worke  in  other  ships, 
they  spared  not  to  tell  us  the  danger  we  were  in, 
and  the  mischiefes  we  must  needs  incurre,  as  being 
sure  if  we  were  not  used  like  slaves,  to  be  sold  as 
slaves;  for  there  had  beene  five  hundred  brought 
into  the  market  for  the  same  purpose,  and  above  a 
hundred  hansome  youths  compelled  to  turne  Turkes, 
or  made  subiect  to  more  viler  prostitution,  and  all 
English:  yet  like  good  Christians,  they  bade  us  be 
of  good  cheere,  and  comfort  ourselves  in  this,  that 
Gods  trials  were  gentle  purgations,  and  these  crosses 
were  but  to  cleanse  the  drosse  from  the  gold,  and 
bring  us  out  of  the  fire  againe  more  cleare  and 
lovely.  Yet  I  must  needs  confesse,  that  they  af- 
forded us  reason  for  this  cruelty,  as  if  they  deter- 
mined to  be  revenged  of  our  last  attempt  to  fire  their 
ships  in  the  Mould,  and  therefore  protested  to 
spare    none    whom    they    could    surprise    and    take 


THE  WONDERFUL  FIGHT  65 

alive;  but  either  to  sell  them  for  money,  or  torment 
them  to  serve  their  owne  turnes.  Now  their  cus- 
tomes  and  usages  in  both  these  was  in  this  manner. 

First,  concerning  the  first.  The  Bashaw  had  the 
over-seeing  of  all  prisoners,  who  were  presented 
unto  him  at  their  first  comming  into  the  harbour, 
and  to  choose  one  out  of  every  eight  for  a  present  or 
fee  to  himselfe :  the  rest  were  rated  by  the  Captaines, 
and  so  sent  to  the  Market  to  be  sold;  whereat  if 
either  there  were  repining,  or  any  drawing  backe, 
then  certaine  Moores  and  Officers  attended  either 
to  beate  you  forward,  or  thrust  you  into  the  sides 
with  Goades;  and  this  was  the  manner  of  the  sell- 
ing of  Slaves. 

Secondly,  concerning  their  enforcing  them,  either 
to  turne  Turke,  or  to  attend  their  filthines  and  im- 
pieties, although  it  would  make  a  Christians  heart 
bleed  to  heare  of  the  same,  yet  must  the  truth  not 
be  hid,  nor  the  terror  left  untold.  They  commonly 
lay  them  on  their  naked  backs  or  bellies,  beating 
them  so  long,  till  they  bleed  at  the  nose  and  mouth; 
and  if  yet  they  continue  constant,  then  they  strike 
the  teeth  out  of  their  heads,  pinch  them  by  their 
tongues,  and  use,many  other  sorts  of  tortures  to  con- 
vert them;  nay,  many  times  they  lay  them  their 
whole  length  in  the  ground  like  a  grave,  and  so 
cover  them  with  boords,  threatening  to  starve  them, 
if  they  will  not  turne;  and  so  many  even  for  feare 
of  torment  and  death,  make  their  tongues  betray 
their  hearts  to  a  most  fearefuU  wickednesse,  and  so 


66  GREAT  PIRATE  STORIES 

are  circumcised  with  new  names,  and  brought  to  con- 
fesse  a  new  Religion.  Others  againe,  I  must  con- 
fesse,  who  never  knew  any  God,  but  their  own  sen- 
suall  lusts  and  pleasures,  thought  that  any  religion 
would  serve  their  turnes,  and  so  for  preferment  or 
wealth  very  voluntarily  renounced  their  faith,  and 
became  Rencgadoes  in  despight  of  any  counsell  which 
se-emed  to  intercept  them:  and  this  was  the  first 
newes  wee  cncountred  with  at  our  comming  first  to 
Algier. 

The  26.  of  the  same  moneth,  lohn  Rawlins  his 
Barke,  with  his  other  three  men  and  a  boy,  came 
safe  Into  the  Mould,  and  so  were  put  all  together  to 
be  carried  before  the  Bashaw,  but  tha\:  they  tooke 
the  Owners  servant,  and  Rawlins  Boy,  and  by  force 
and  torment  compelled  them  to  turne  Turk-es:  then 
were  they  in  all  seven  English,  besides  lohn  Raw- 
lins, of  whom  the  Bashaw  tooke  one,  and  sent  the 
rest  to  their  Captaines,  who  set  a  valuation  upon 
them,  and  so  the  Souldiers  hurried  us  like  dogs  into 
the  Market,  whereas  men  sell  Hacknies  in  England. 
We  were  tossed  up  and  downe  to  see  who  would 
give  most  for  us ;  and  although  we  had  heavy  hearts, 
and  looked  with  sad  countenances,  yet  many  came  to 
behold  us,  sometimes  taking  us  by  the  hand,  some- 
times turning  us  round  about,  sometimes  feeling  our 
brawnes  and  naked  armes,  and  so  beholding  our 
prices  written  on  our  breasts,  they  bargained  for  us 
accordingly,  and  at  last  we  were  all  sold,  and  the 


THE  WONDERFUL  FIGHT  67 

Souldlers  returned  with  the  money  to  their  Cap- 
talnes. 

lohn  Rawlins  was  the  last  who  was  sold,  by  rea- 
son of  his  lame  hand,  and  bought  by  the  Captaine 
that  tooke  him,  even  that  dog  Villa  Rise,  who  bet- 
ter informing  himselfe  of  his  skill  fit  to  be  a  Pilot, 
and  his  experience  to  bee  an  over-seer,  bought  him 
and  his  Carpenter  at  very  easie  rates.  For  as  we 
afterwards  understood  by  divers  English  Rene- 
gadoes,  he  paid  for  Rawlins  but  one  hundred  and 
fiftie  Dooblets,  which  make  of  English  money  seven 
pound  ten  shilling.  Thus  was  "he  and  his  Carpenter 
with  divers  other  slaves  sent  into  his  ship  to  worke, 
and  imployed  about  such  affaires,  as  belonged  to  the 
well  rigging  and  preparing  the  same.  But  the  vil- 
lanous  Tiirkes  perceiving  his  lame  hand,  and  that 
he  could  not  performe  so  much  as  other  Slaves, 
quickly  complained  to  their  Patron,  who  as  quickly 
apprehended  the  inconvenience;  whereupon  hee  sent 
for  him  the  next  day,  and  told  him  he  was  unserv- 
iceable for  his  present  purpose,  and  therefore  un- 
lesse'he  could  procure  fifteene  pound  of  the  English 
there  for  his  ransome,  he  would  send  him  up  into 
the  Countrey,  where  he  should  never  see  Christen- 
dome  againe,  and  endure  the  extremity  of  a  miser- 
able banishment. 

But  see  how  God  worketh  all  for  the  best  for  his 
servants,  and  confounded  the  presumption  of  Ty- 
rants, frustrating  their  purposes,  to  make  his  won- 
ders knowne  to  the  sonnes  of  men,  and  releeves  his 


68  GRI-AT  PIRATI-   STORIES 

people,  when  they  least  thinke  of  succour  and  re- 
Icascmcnt.  Whilest  fohn  Rawlins  was  thus  terrified 
with  tlie  dogged  answere  of  Filla  Rise,  the  Ex- 
change of  Bristow*  a  ship  formerly  surprised  by  the 
Pirats,  lay  all  unrigged  in  the  Harbour,  till  at  last 
one  lohn  Goodalc,  an  English  Tiirke,  with  his  con- 
federates, understanding  shee  was  a  good  sailer, 
and  might  be  made  a  proper  Man  of  Warre,  bought 
her  from  the  Turkcs  that  tookc  her,  and  prepared 
her  for  their  owne  purpose.  Now  the  Caplainc  that 
set  them  at  workc,  was  also  an  English  Renegado, 
by  the  name  of  Rammelham  Rise,  but  by  his  Chris- 
tian name  Henric  Chandler,  who  resolved  to  make 
Goodale  Master  over  her;  and  because  they  were 
both  English  Turkes,  having  the  command  notwith- 
standing of  many  Turkes  and  Moores,  they  con- 
cluded to  have  all  English  slaves  to  goe  in  her,  and 
for  their  Gunners,  English  and  Dutch  Renegadoes, 
and  so  they  agreed  with  the  Patrons  of  nine  English 
and  one  French  Slave  for  their  ransoms,  who  were 
presently  imployed  to  rig  and  furnish  the  ship  for  a 
Man  of  Warre,  and  while  they  were  thus  busied, 
two  of  lohn  Rawlins  men,  who  were  taken  with  him, 
were  also  taken  up  to  serve  in  this  Man  of  Warre, 
their  names,  lames  Roe,  and  lohn  Dazies,  the  one 
dwelling  in  PUmmoth,  and  the  other  in  Foy,  where 
the  Commander  of  this  ship  was  also  borne,  by  which 
occasion  they  came  acquainted,  so  that  both  the  Cap- 
taine,  and  the  Master  promised  them  good  usage, 

*  Bristol. 


THE  WONDERFUL  FIGHT  69 

upon  the  good  service  they  should  performe  in  the 
voyage,  and  withall  demanded  of  them,  if  they  knew 
of  any  Englishman  to  be  bought,  that  could  serve 
as  a  Pilot,  both  to  direct  them  out  of  Harbour, 
and  conduct  them  in  their  voyage.  For  in  truth 
neither  was  the  Captaine  a  Mariner,  nor  any 
Turke  In  her  of  sufficiency  to  dispose  of  her  through 
the  Straites  in  securitle,  nor  oppose  any  enemie,  that 
should  hold  it  out  bravely  against  them.  Davies 
quickly  replied,  that  as  farre  as  he  understood,  Filla 
Rise  would  sell  lohn  Rawlins  his  Master,  and  Com- 
mander of  the  Barke  which  was  taken,  a  man  every 
way  sufficient  for  Sea  affaires,  being  of  great  resolu- 
tion and  good  experience;  and  for  all  he  had  a  lame 
hand,  yet  had  he  a  sound  heart  and  noble  courage 
for  any  attempt  or  adventure. 

When  the  Captaine  understood  thus  much,  he  Im- 
ployed  Davies  to  search  for  Rawlins,  who  at  last 
lighting  upon  him,  asked  him  if  the  Turke  would  sell 
him:  RazvUns  suddenly  answered,  that  by  reason  of 
his  lame  hand  he  was  willing  to  part  with  him;  but 
because  he  had  disbursed  money  for  him,  he  would 
gaine  something  by  him,  and  so  prized  him  at  three 
hundred  Dooblets,  which  amounteth  to  fifteene 
pound  English;  which  he  must  procure,  or  incurre 
sorer  indurances.  When  Davies  had  certified  this 
much,  the  Turkes  a  ship-boord  conferred  about  the 
matter,  and  the  Master  whose  Christen  name  was 
lohn  Goodale  joyned  with  two  Tiirkes,  who  were 
consorted   with   him,    and    disbursed    one    hundred 


70         GKi'A'r  inRATi:  srcjRii'S 

Doohlcts  a  piece,  and  so  bouj^ht  him  of  Filla  Rise, 
sending  him  into  the  said  ship,  called  the  Exchange 
of  liristow,  as  well  to  supervise  what  had  hccn  done, 
as  to  order  what  was  left  undone,  but  especially  to 
lit  the  sailcs,  and  to  accommodate  the  ship,  all  which 
Razvlins  was  very  carefull  and  dilligcnt  in,  not  yet 
thinking  of  any  peculiar  plot  of  deliverance,  more 
than  a  generall  desire  to  be  freed  from  this  Turkish 
slaverie,  and  inhumane  abuses. 

By  the  seventh  of  Januarie,  the  ship  was  prepared 
with  twelve  good  cast  Pieces,  and  all  manner  of 
munition  and  provision,  which  belonged  to  such  a 
purpose,  and  the  same  day  haled  out  of  the  Mould 
of  Algicr,  with  this  company,  and  in  this  manner. 

There  were  in  her  sixtie  three  Turkes  and 
Moores,  nine  English  slaves,  and  one  French,  foure 
Hollanders  that  were  free  men,  to  whom  the  Turkes 
promised  one  prise  or  other,  and  so  to  returne  to 
Holland;  or  if  they  were  disposed  to  goe  backe 
againe  for  Algier,  they  should  have  great  reward 
and  no  enforcement  offered,  but  continue  as  they 
would,  both  their  religion  and  their  customes :  and 
for  their  Gunners  they  had  two  of  our  Souldiers, 
one  English  and  one  Dutch  Renegado ;  and  thus 
much  for  the  companie.  For  the  manner  of  setting 
out,  it  was  as  usuall  as  in  other  ships,  but  that  the 
Turkes  delighted  in  the  ostentous  braverie  of  their 
Streamers,  Banners,  and  Top-sayles;  the  ship  being 
a  handsome  ship,  and  well  built  for  any  purpose. 
The    Slaves    and    English    were    imployed    under 


THE  WONDERFUL  FIGHT  71 

Hatches  about  the  Ordnance,  and  other  workes  of 
order,  and  accommodating  themselves:  all  which 
lohn  Rawlins  marked,  as  supposing  it  an  intolerable 
siaverie  to  take  such  paines,  and  be  subiect  to  such 
dangers,  and  still  to  enrich  other  men  and  maintaine 
their  voluptuous  filthinesse  and  lives,  returning  them- 
selves as  Slaves,  and  living  worse  than  their  Dogs 
amongst  them.  Whereupon  hee  burst  out  into  these, 
or  the  like  abrupt  speeches :  "Oh  Hellish  siaverie  to 
be  thus  subiect  to  Dogs!  Oh,  God  strengthen  my 
heart  and  hand,  that  something  shall  be  done  to  ease 
us  of  these  mischiefs,  and  deliver  us  from  these  cruell 
Mahumetan  Dogs.  The  other  Slaves  pittying  his 
distraction  (as  they  thought)  bad  him  speake 
softly,  lest  they  should  all  fare  the  worse  for  his 
distemperature.  The  worse  (quoth  Rawlins)  what 
can  be  worse?  I  will  either  attempt  my  deliver- 
ance at  one  time,  or  another,  or  perish  in  the  enter- 
prise :  but  if  you  would  be  contented  to  hearken  after 
a  release,  and  joyne  with  me  in  the  action,  I  would 
not  doubt  of  facilitating  the  same,  and  shew  you  a 
way  to  make  your  credits  thrive  by  some  worke  of 
amazement,  and  augment  your  glorie  in  purchasing 
your  libertie."  "I  prethee  be  quiet  (said  they 
againe)  and  think  not  of  impossibilities:  yet  if  you 
can  but  open  such  a  doore  of  reason  and  probabilite, 
that  we  be  not  condemned  for  desperate  and  dis- 
tracted persons,  in  pulling  the  Sunne  as  it  were  out 
of  the  Firmament,  wee  can  but  sacrifice  our  lives, 
and  you  may  be  sure  of  secrecie  and  faithfulnesse." 


72         c;Ri<:Ar  i>irati-.  stories 

The  fifteenth  of  Januaric,  the  morning  water 
brought  us  ncere  Cape  dc  Gall,  hard  by  the  shoare, 
we  having  in  our  companie  a  smal  Turkish  ship  of 
Warrc,  that  followed  us  out  of  Alyier  the  next  day, 
and  now  ioyning  with  us,  gave  us  notice  of  seven 
small  vessels,  sixe  of  them  being  Sallccs,  and  one 
Pollack,  who  very  quickly  appeared  in  sight,  and  so 
we  made  toward  them :  but  having  more  advantage 
of  the  Pollack,  then  the  rest,  and  loth  to  lose  all,  we 
both  fctcht  her  up,  and  brought  her  past  hope  of 
recoverie,  which  when  she  perceived,  rather  then 
she  would  voluntarily  come  into  the  slaverie  of  these 
Mahiimctans,  she  ran  her  selfe  a  shoare,  and  so  all 
the  men  forsooke  her.  We  still  followed  as  neere  as 
we  durst,  and  for  feare  of  splitting,  let  fall  our 
anchors,  sending  out  both  our  boates,  wherein  were 
many  Musketeers,  and  some  English  and  Dutch 
Renegadoes,  who  came  aboord  home  at  their  Conge, 
and  found  three  pieces  of  Ordnance,  and  foure 
Murtherers:  but  they  straightway  threw  them  all 
over-boord  to  lighten  the  ship,  and  so  they  got  her 
off,  being  laden  with  Hides,  and  Logwood  for  dying, 
and  presently  sent  her  to  Algier,  taking  nine  Turkes, 
and  one  English  Slave,  out  of  one  ship,  and  six  out 
of  the  lesse,  which  we  thought  sufficient  to  man  her. 

In  the  rifling  of  this  Catelayjiia,  our  Turkes  fell  at 
variance  one  with  another,  and  in  such  a  manner, 
that  we  divided  our  selves,  the  lesser  ship  returned 
to  Algier,  and  our  Exchange  tooke  the  opportunitie 
of  the  wind,  and  plyed  out  of  the  Streights,  which 


THE  WONDERFUL  FIGHT  73 

reioyced  lohn  Rawlins  very  much,  as  resolving  on 
some  Stratageme,  when  opportunities  should  serve. 
In  the  meane-while,  the  Tiirkes  began  to  murmurre, 
and  would  not  willingly  goe  into  the  Marr  Granada, 
as  the  phrase  is  amongst  them:  notwithstanding  the 
Moores  being  very  superstitious,  were  contented  to 
be  directed  by  their  Hoshea,  who  with  us,  signifieth 
a  Witch,  and  Is  of  great  account  and  reputation 
amongst  them,  as  not  going  in  any  great  Vessell  to 
Sea  without  one,  and  observing  whatsoever  he  con- 
cludeth  out  of  his  Divination.  The  Ceremonies  they 
use  are  many,  and  when  they  come  Into  the  Ocean, 
every  second  or  third  night  they  make  their  Conjura- 
tion; It  beginneth  and  endeth  with"  Prayer,  using 
many  Characters,  and  calling  upon  God  by  divers 
names :  yet  at  this  time,  all  that  they  did  consisted  In 
these  particulars. 

Upon  the  sight  of  two  great  ships,  and  as  wee 
were  afraid  of  their  chasing  us,  they  beeing  supposed 
to  bee  Spanish  men  of  Warre,  a  great  silence  is  com- 
manded in  the  ship,  and  when  all  Is  done,  the  com- 
pany giveth  as  great  a  skreech;  the  Captaine  com- 
mlng  to  John  Rawlins,  and  sometimes  making  him 
take  in  all  his  sayles,  and  sometimes  causing  him  to 
hoyst  them  all  out,  as  the  Witch  findeth  by  his  Booke, 
and  presages;  then  have  they  two  Arrowes,  and  a 
Curtleaxe,  lying  upon  a  Pillow  naked;  the  Arrowes 
are  one  for  the  Turkes,  and  the  other  for  the  Chris- 
tians; then  the  Witch  readeth,  and  the  Captaine  or 
some  other  taketh  the  Arrowes  In  their  hand  by 


74  GR1':AT  pi  RATI':  STORIES 

the  heads,  and  if  the  Arrow  for  the  Christians  com- 
ineth  over  the  head  of  the  Arrow  for  the  Turkes, 
then  doe  they  advance  their  sayles,  and  will  not  en- 
dure the  li^lit,  whatsoever  they  see:  but  if  the  Ar- 
row of  the  Turkes  is  found  in  the  opening  of  the 
hand  upon  the  Arrow  of  the  Christians,  then  will 
they  stay  and  encounter  with  any  shippe  whatso- 
ever. The  Curtlcaxe  is  taken  up  by  some  Childe, 
that  is  innocent,  or  rather  ignorant  of  the  Cere- 
monie,  and  so  layd  downe  againc;  then  doe  they 
observe,  whether  the  same  side  is  uppermost,  which 
lay  before,  and  so  proceed  accordingly. 

They  also  observe  Lunatickes  and  Changelings, 
and  the  Coniurer  writeth  downe  their  Sayings  in  a 
Booke,  groveling  on  the  ground,  as  if  he  whispered  to 
the  Devil  to  tell  him  the  truth,  and  so  expoundeth 
the  Letter,  as  it  were  by  inspiration.  Many  other 
foolish  Rites  they  have,  whereupon  they  doe  dote  as 
foolishly. 

Whilest  he  was  busied,  and  made  demonstration 
that  all  was  finished,  the  people  in  the  ship  gave  a 
great  shout,  and  cryed  out,  "a  sayle,  a  sayle,"  which 
at  last  was  discovered  to  bee  another  man  of  Warre 
of  Turkes.  For  he  made  toward  us,  and  sent  his 
Boat  aboord  us,  to  whom  our  Captain  complained, 
that  being  becalmed  by  the  Southerne  Cape,  and 
having  made  no  Voyage,  the  Turkes  denyed  to  goe 
any  further  Northward:  but  the  Captaine  resolved 
not  to  returne  to  Algier,  except  he  could  obtayne 
some  Prize  worthy  his  endurances,  but  rather  to  goe 


THE  WONDERFUL  FIGHT  75 

to  Salle,  and  tell  his  Christians  to  victuall  his  ship; 
which  the  other  Captaine  apprehended  for  his 
honour,  and  so  perswaded  the  Ttirkes  to  be  obe- 
dient unto  him;  whereupon  followed  a  pacification 
amongst  us,  and  so  that  Tiirke  tooke  his  course  for 
the  Streights,  and  wee  put  up  Northward,  expecting 
the  good  houre  of  some  beneficiall  bootie. 

All  this  while  our  slavery  continued,  and  the 
Turkes  with  insulting  tyrannie  set  us  still  on  'worke 
in  all  base  and  servile  actions,  adding  stripes  and 
inhumane  revilings,  even  in  our  greatest  labour, 
whereupon  lohn  Rawlins  resolved  to  obtane  his  lib- 
ertie,  and  surprize  the  ship;  providing  Ropes  with 
broad  spikes  of  Iron,  and  all  the  Iron  Crowes, 
with  which  hee  knew  a  way,  upon  i:onsent  of  the 
rest,  to  ramme  up  or  tye  fast  their  Scuttels,  Grat- 
ings, and  Cabbins,  yea,  to  shut  up  the  Captaine  him- 
selfe  with  all  his  Consorts,  and  so  to  handle  the  mat- 
ter, that  upon  the  watch-word  given,  'the  English 
being  Masters  of  the  Gunner  roome.  Ordnance,  and 
Powder,  they  would  eyther  blow  them  into  the 
Ayre,  or  kill  them  as  they  adventured  to  come 
downe  one  by  one,  if  they  should  by  any  chance  open 
their  Cabbins.  But  because  hee  would  proceed  the 
better  in  his  enterprise,  as  he  had  somewhat 
abruptly  discovered  himselfe  to  the  nine  English 
slaves,  so  he  kept  the  same  distance  with  the  foure 
Hollanders,  that  were  free  men,  till  finding  them 
comming  somewhat  toward  them,  he  acquainted 
them  with  the  whole  Conspiracie,  and  they  affecting 


76  C^KI'AT  PlRA'ri-:  STORIES 

the  Plot,  offered  the  adventure  of  their  lives  in  the 
businesse.  i  hen  very  warily  he  undermined  the 
English  Hencgado,  which  was  the  Gunner,  and  three 
more  his  Associats,  who  at  first  seemed  to  retract. 
Last  of  all  were  brought  in  the  Dutch  Kenegadoes, 
who  were  also  in  the  Gunner  roome,  for  alwayes 
there  lay  twelve  there,  five  Christians,  and  seven 
English,  and  Dutch  Turkes:  so  that  when  another 
motion  had  settled  their  resolutions,  and  lohyi  Raw- 
lins his  constancie  had  put  new  life  as  it  were  in  the 
matter,  the  foure  Hollanders  very  honestly,  accord- 
ing to  their  promise,  sounded  the  Dutch  Rene- 
gadoes,  who  with  easie  perswasion  gave  their  con- 
sent to  so  brave  an  Enterprize;  whereupon  lohn 
Rawlins,  not  caring  whether  the  English  Gunners 
would  yeeld  or  no,  resolved  in  the  Captaines  morn- 
ing watch,  to  make  the  attempt.  But  you  must  un- 
derstand that  where  the  English  slaves  lay,  there 
hungup  alwayes  foure  or  five  Crowes  of  Iron,  being 
still  under  the  carriages  of  the  Peeces,  and  when  the 
time  approached  being  very  darke,  because  lohn 
Rawlins  would  have  his  Crow  of  Iron  ready  as  other 
things  were,  and  other  men  prepared  in  their  sev- 
erall  places,  in  taking  it  out  of  the  carriage,  by 
chance,  it  hit  on  the  side  of  the  Peece,  making  such 
a  noyse,  that  the  Souldiers  hearing  it  awaked  the 
Turkes,  and  bade  them  come  downe :  whereupon  the 
Botesane  of  the  Turkes  descended  with  a  Candle, 
and  presently  searched  all  the  slaves  places,  making 
much    adoe    of    the    matter,    but    finding    neyther 


THE  WONDERFUL  FIGHT  77 

Hatchet  nor  Hammer,  nor  any  thing  else  to  move 
suspicion  of  the  Enterprize,  more  then  the  Crow  of 
Iron,  which  lay  slipped  downe  under  the  carriages 
of  the  Peeces,  they  went  quietly  up  againe,  and  cer- 
tified the  Captaine  what  had  chanced,  who  satisfied 
himselfe,  that  it  was  a  common  thing  to  have  a 
Crow  of  Iron  slip  from  its  place.  But  by  this  occa- 
sion wee  made  stay  of  our  attempt,  yet  were  re- 
solved to  take  another  or  a  better  oportunitie. 

For  we  sayled  still  more  North-ward,  and  Raw- 
lins had  more  time  to  tamper  with  his  Gunners,  and 
the  rest  of  the  English  Renegadoes,  who  very  will- 
ingly, when  they  considered  the  matter,  and  per- 
pended the  reasons,  gave  way  unto  the  Proiect,  and 
with  a  kind  of  joy  seemed  to  entertayne  the  motives : 
only  they  made  a  stop  at  the  first  on-set,  who  should 
begin  the  enterprize,  which  was  no  way  fit  for  them 
to  doe,  because  they  were  no  slaves,  but  Renegadoes, 
and  so  had  always  beneficiall  entertaynment 
amongst  them.  But  when  it  is  once  put  in  practice, 
they  would  be  sure  not  to  faile  them,  but  venture 
their  lives  for  God  and  their  Countrey.  But  once 
againe  he  is  disappointed,  and  a  suspitious  accident 
brought  him  to  recollect  his  spirits  anew,  and  studie 
on  the  danger  of  the  enterprize,  and  thus  it  was. 
After  the  Renegado  Gunner,  had  protested  secrecie 
by  all  that  might  induce  a  man  to  bestow  some  be- 
liefe  upon  him,  he  presently  went  up  the  Scottle,  but 
stayed  not  aloft  a  quarter  of  an  hourCvnay  he  came 
sooner  down,  &  in  the  Gunner  roome  sate  by  Raw- 


78  GRI':A'r  PIRATE  STORIES 

lifts,  who  tarrycd  for  him  where  he  left  him:  he 
was  no  sooner  placed,  and  cntrcd  into  some  confer- 
ence, hut  there  cntred  into  the  place  a  furious  Turke, 
with  his  Knife  drawnc,  and  presented  it  to  Rwuilins 
liis  body,  who  verily  supposed,  he  intended  to  kill 
him,  as  suspitious  that  the  (junner  had  discovered 
something,  whereat  Rawlins  was  much  moved,  and 
hastily  asked  what  the  matter  meant,  and  whether 
he  would  kill  him,  observing  his  companion's  coun- 
tenance to  change  colour,  whereby  his  suspitious 
heart,  condemned  him  for  a  Traytor:  but  at  more 
leisure  he  sware  the  contrary,  and  afterward  proved 
faithfuU  and  industrious  in  the  enterprize.  For  the 
present,  he  answered  Rawlins  in  this  manner,  "no 
Master,  be  not  afraid,  I  thinke  hee  doth  but  iest." 
With  that  John  Rawlins  gave  backe  a  little  and 
drew  out  his  Knife,  stepping  also  to  the  Gunners 
sheath  and  taking  out  his,  whereby  he  had  two 
Knives  to  one,  which  when  the  Tiirke  perceived, 
he  threw  downe  his  Knife,  saying,  hee  did  but  iest 
with  him.  But  when  the  Gunner  perceived,  Rawlins 
tooke  it  so  ill,  hee  whispered  something  in  his  eare, 
that  at  last  satisfied  him,  calling  Heaven  to  witnesse, 
that  he  never  spake  word  of  the  Enterprize,  nor 
ever  would,  either  to  the  preiudice  of  the  businesse, 
or  danger  of  his  person.  Notwithstanding,  Rawlins 
kept  the  Knives  in  his  sleeve  all  night,  and  was 
somewhat  troubled,  for  that  hee  had  made  so  many 
acquainted  with  an  action  of  such  importance;  but 
the  next  day,  when  hee  perceived  the  Coast  cleere, 


THE  WONDERFUL  FIGHT  79 

and  that  there  was  no  cause  of  further  feare,  hee 
somewhat  comforted  himselfe. 

All  this  while,  Rawlins  drew  the  Captaine  to  lye 
for  the  Northerne  Cape,  assuring  him,  that  thereby 
he  should  not  misse  a  prize,  which  accordingly 
fell  out,  as  a  wish  would  have  it:  but  his  drift  was  in 
truth  to  draw  him  from  any  supply,  or  help 
of  Turkes,  if  God  should  give  way  to  their  Enter- 
prize,  or  successe  to  the  victorie:  yet  for  the  present 
the  sixth  of  February,  being  twelve  leagues  from  the 
Cape,  wee  descryed  a  sayle,  and  presently  took  the 
advantage  of  the  wind  in  chasing  her,  and  at  last 
fetched  her  up,  making  her  strike  all  her  sayles, 
whereby  wee  knew  her  to  be  a  Barke  belonging  to 
Tor  Bay,  neere  Dartmouth,  that  came  from  Auerure 
laden  with  Salt.  Ere  we  had  fully  dispatched,  it 
chanced  to  be  foule  weather,  so  that  we  could  not, 
or  at  least  would  not  make  out  our  Boat,  but  caused 
the  Master  of  the  Barke  to  let  downe  his,  and  come 
aboord  with  his  Company,  being  in  the  Barke  but 
nine  men,  and  one  Boy;  and  so  the  Master  leaving 
his  Mate  with  two  men  in  the  ship,  came  himselfe 
with  five  men,  and  the  boy  unto  us,  whereupon  our 
Turkish  Captain  sent  ten  Turkes  to  man  her, 
amongst  whom  were  two  Dutch,  and  one  English 
Renegado,  who  were  of  our  confederacie,  and  ac- 
quainted with  the  businesse. 

But  when  Rawlins  saw  this  partition  of  his 
friends;  before  they  could  hoyst  out  their  Boat  for 
the  Barke,  he  made  meanes  to  speake  with  them, 


80  GREAT  PIRATE  STORIES 

and  told  them  plainly,  that  he  would  prosecute  the 
matter  eytlicr  that  night,  or  the  next  and  therefore 
whatsoever  came  of  it  they  should  acquaint  the  Eng- 
lish with  his  resolution,  and  make  toward  England, 
hearing  up  the  helme,  whiles  the  Tiirkes  slept,  and 
suspected  no  such  matter:  for  by  Gods  grace  in  his 
first  watch  about  mid-night,  he  would  shew  them  a 
light,  by  which  they  might  understand,  that  the  En- 
terpri/.e  was  begunnc,  or  at  least  in  a  good  forward- 
nesse  for  the  execution:  and  so  the  Boat  was  let 
downe,  and  they  came  to  the  Barke  of  Tor  Bay, 
where  the  Masters  Mate  beeing  left  (as  before  you 
have  heard)  apprehended  quickly  the  matter,  and 
heard  the  Discourse  with  amazement.  But  time 
was  precious,  and  not  to  be  spent  in  disputing,  or 
casting  of  doubts,  whether  the  Tiirkes  that  were 
with  them  were  able  to  master  them,  or  no,  beeing 
seven  to  sixe,  considering  they  had  the  helme  of 
the  ship,  and  the  Tiirkes  being  Souldiers,  and  igno- 
rant of  Sea  Affaires,  could  not  discover,  whether 
they  went  to  Algier  or  no;  or  if  they  did,  they  re- 
solved by  Rawlins  example  to  cut  their  throats,  or 
cast  them  over-boord :  and  so  I  leave  them  to  make 
use  of  the  Renegadoes  instructions,  and  returne  to 
Rawlins  againe. 

The  Master  of  the  Barke  of  Tor  Bay,  and  his 
Company  were  quickly  searched,  and  as  quickly  pil- 
laged, and  dismissed  to  the  libertie  of  the  shippe, 
whereby  Rawlins  had  leisure  to  entertayne  him  with 
the  lamentable  newes  of  their  extremities,  and  in  a 


THE  WONDERFUL  FIGHT  81 

word,  of  every  particular  which  was  befitting  to  the 
purpose:  yea,  he  told  him,  that  that  night  he  should 
lose  the  sight  of  them,  for  they  would  make  the 
helme  for  England  and  hee  would  that  night  and 
evermore  pray  for  their  good  successe,  and  safe  de- 
liverance. 

When  the  Master  of  the  Barke  of  Tor  Bay  had 
heard  him  out,  and  that  his  company  were  par- 
takers of  his  Storie,  they  became  all  silent,  not 
eyther  diffident  of  his  Discourse,  or  afraid  of  the 
attempt,  but  resolved  to  assist  him.  Yet  to  shew 
himselfe  an  understanding  man,  hee  demanded  of 
Rawlins,  what  weapons  he  had,  and  in  what  man- 
ner he  would  execute  the  businesse :  to  which  he  an- 
swered, that  he  had  Ropes,  and  Iron  Hookes  to 
make  fast  the  Scottels,  Gratings,  and  Cabbines,  he 
had  also  in  the  Gunner  roome  two  Curtleaxes,  and 
the  slaves  had  five  Crowes  of  Iron  before  them: 
Besides,  in  the  scuffling  they  made  no  question  of 
some  of  the  Souldiers  weapons.  Then  for  the  man- 
ner, hee  told  them,  they  were  sure  of  the  Ordnance, 
the  Gunner  roome,  and  the  Powder,  and  so  blocking 
them  up,  would  eyther  kill  them  as  they  came 
downe,  or  turne  the  Ordnance  against  their  Cab- 
bins,  or  blow  them  into  the  Ayre  by  one  Strategeme 
or  other;  and  thus  were  they  contented  on  all  sides, 
and  resolved  to  the  Enterprize. 

The  next  morning,  being  the  seventh  of  Feb- 
ruary, the  Prize  of  Tor  Bay  was  not  to  bee  scene 
or  found,  whereat  the   Captaine  began  to  storme 


82  GREAT  PIRATE  STORIES 

and  swcarc,  commanding  Rawlins  to  search  the 
Seas  up  and  downc  for  her,  who  bestowed  all  that 
day  in  the  husincsse,  hut  to  little  purpose:  where- 
upon when  the  humour  was  spent,  the  Captaine 
pacified  himselfe,  as  conceiting  he  should  sure  find 
her  at  /lly'wr:  but  by  the  permission  of  the  Ruler  of 
all  actions,  that  Alyier  was  I'^ngland,  and  all  his 
wickedncsse  frustrated:  for  Raiilins  beeing  now 
startled,  lest  hce  should  returnc  in  this  humour  for 
the  Streights,  on  the  eight  of  February  went  downe 
into  the  hold,  and  finding  a  great  deale  of  water 
below,  told  the  Captaine  of  the  same,  adding,  that 
it  did  not  come  to  the  Pumpe,  which  he  said  very 
politickly,  that  he  might  remove  the  Ordnance.  F^or 
when  the  Captaine  askt  him  the  reason,  he  told  him 
the  ship  was  too  farre  after  the  head:  then  hee 
commanded  to  use  the  best  meanes  he  could  to 
bring  her  in  order :  "sure  then,"  quoth  Raivlins,  "wee 
must  quit  our  Cables,  and  bring  foure  Peeces  of 
Ordnance  after,  and  that  would  bring  the  water  to 
the  Pumpe;"  which  was  presently  put  in  practice,  so 
the  Peeces  beeing  usually  made  fast  thwart  the 
ship,  we  brought  two  of  them  with  their  mouthes 
right  before  the  Binnacle,  and  because  the  Renegadoe 
Flemmiyigs  would  not  begin,  it  was  thus  concluded: 
that  the  ship  having  three  Deckes,  wee  that  did  be- 
long to  the  Gunner  roome  should  bee  all  there,  and 
breake  up  the  lower  Decke.  The  English  slaves, 
who  always  lay  in  the  middle  Decks,  should  doe  the 
like,  and  watch  the  Scuttels:  Rawlins  himselfe  pre- 


THE  WONDERFUL  FIGHT  83 

vayled  with  the  Gunner,  for  so  much  Powder,  as 
s'hould  prime  the  Peeces,  and  so  told  them  all  there 
was  no  better  watch-word,  nor  meanes  to  begin,  then 
upon  the  report  of  the  Peece  to  make  a  cry  and 
shout,  for  God,  and  King  lames,  and  Saint  George 
for  England! 

When  all  things  were  prepared,  and  every  man 
resolved,  as  knowing  what  hee  had  to  doe,  and  the 
houre  when  it  should  happen,  to  be  two  in  the  after- 
noone,  Rawlins  advised  the  Master  Gunner  to 
speake  to  the  Captaine,  that  the  Souldiers  might  at- 
tend on  the  Poope,  which  would  bring  the  ship 
after:  to  which  the  Captaine  was  very  willing,  and 
upon  the  Gunners  information,  the  Souldiers  gat 
themselves  to  the  Poope,  to  the  number  of  twentie, 
and  five  or  sixe  went  into  the  Captaines  Cabbin, 
where  always  lay  divers  Curtleaxes,  and  some  Tar- 
gets, and  so  wee  fell  to  worke  to  pumpe  the  water, 
and  carryed  the  matter  fairely  till  the  next  day, 
which  was  spent  as  the  former,  being  the  ninth  of 
February,  and  as  God  must  have  the  prayse,  the 
triumph  of  our  victorie. 

For  by  that  time  all  things  were  prepared,  and  the 
Souldiers  got  upon  the  Poope  as  the  day  before : 
to  avoid  suspition,  all  that  did  belong  to  the  Gun- 
ner-roome  went  downe,  and  the  slaves  in  the  middle 
decke  attended  their  business,  so  that  we  could  cast 
up  our  account  in  this  manner.  First,  nine  English 
slaves,  besides  lohn  Rawlins:  five  of  the  Tor  Bay 
men,  and  one  boy,  foure  English  Renegadoes,  and 


84  GRFAT  1>IRATE  STORIES 

two  French,  fourc  Hollanders:  in  all  four  and 
twenty  and  a  boy:  so  that  lifting  up  our  hearts  and 
hands  to  God  for  the  succcsse  of  the  businesse,  we 
were  wonderfully  incouraged;  and  setled  our  selves, 
till  the  report  of  the  pecce  gave  us  warning  of  the 
enterprise.  Now,  you  must  consider,  that  in  this 
company  were  two  of  Rawlins  men,  lames  Roe,  and 
lohn  Davics,  whom  he  brought  out  of  England,  and 
whom  the  fortune  of  the  Sea  brought  into  the  same 
predicament  with  their  Master.  These  were  im- 
ployed  about  noone  (being  as  I  said,  the  ninth  of 
February)  to  prepare  their  matches,  while  all  the 
Turkes  or  at  least  most  of  them  stood  on  the 
Poope,  to  weigh  down  the  ship  as  it  were,  to  bring 
the  water  forward  to  the  Pumpe :  the  one  brought 
his  match  lighted  betweene  two  spoons,  the  other 
brought  his  in  a  little  peece  of  a  Can:  and  so  in  the 
name  of  God,  the  Turkes  and  Moores  being  placed 
as  you  have  heard,  and  five  and  forty  in  number, 
and  Rawlins  having  proined  the  Tuch-holes,  lames 
Roe  gave  fire  to  one  of  the  peeces,  about  two  of  the 
clocke  in  the  afternoone,  and  the  confederates  upon 
the  warning,  shouted  most  cheerefully:  the  report 
of  the  peece  did  teare  and  breake  down  all  the 
Binnacle,  and  compasses,  and  the  noise  of  the  slaves 
made  all  the  Souldiers  amased  at  the  matter,  till 
seeing  the  quarter  of  the  ship  rent,  and  feeling  the 
whole  body  to  shake  under  them:  understanding  the 
ship  was  surprised,  and  the  attempt  tended  to  their 
utter  destruction,  never  Beare  robbed  of  her  whelpes 


THE  WONDERFUL  FIGHT  85 

was  so  fell  and  mad :  For  they  not  onely  cald  us 
dogs,  and  cried  out,  Usance  de  Lamair,  which  is 
as  much  to  say,  the  Fortune  of  the  wars :  but  at- 
tempted to  teare  up  the  planck.es,  setting  a  worke 
hammers,  hatchets,  knives,  the  oares  of  the  Boate, 
the  Boat-hooke,  their  curtleaxes,  and  what  else 
came  to  hand,  besides  stones  and  brickes  in  the 
Cooke-roome,  all  which  they  threw  amongst  us,  at- 
tempting still  and  still  to  breake  and  rip  up  the 
hatches,  and  boords  of  the  steering,  not  desisting 
from  their  former  execrations,  and  horrible  blas- 
phemies and  revilings. 

When  lohn  Rawlins  perceived  them  so  violent, 
and  understood  how  the  slaves  had  cleared  the 
deckes  of  all  the  Ttirkes  and  Moores  beneath,  he 
set  a  guard  upon  the  Powder,  and  charged  their 
owne  Muskets  against  them,  killing  them  from 
divers  scout-holes,  both  before  and  behind,  and  so 
lessened  their  number,  to  the  ioy  of  all  our  hearts, 
whereupon  they  cried  out,  and  called  for  the  Pilot, 
and  so  Rawlins,  with  some  to  guard  him,  went  to 
them,  and  understood  them  by  their  kneeling,  that 
they  cried  for  mercy,  and  to  have  their  lives  saved, 
and  they  would  come  downe,  which  he  bade  them 
doe,  and  so  they  were  taken  one  by  one,  and  bound, 
yea  killed  with  their  owne  Curtleaxes;  which  when 
the  rest  perceived,  they  called  us  English  dogs,  and 
reviled  us  with  many  opprobrious  termes,  some 
leaping  over-boord,  crying,  it  was  the  chance  of 
war;  some  were  manacled,   and  so   throwne  over- 


86  GREAT  PIRATE  STORIES 

boord,  and  some  were  slainc  and  mangled  with  the 
Curtlcaxes,  till  the  ship  was  well  cleared,  and  our 
selves  assured  of  the  victory. 

At  the  first  report  of  our  Peece,  and  hurliburly 
In  the  decks,  the  Captaine  was  a  writing  in  his  Cab- 
bin,  and  hearing  the  noyse,  thought  it  some  strange 
accident,  and  so  came  out  with  his  Curtleaxe  in  his 
hand,  presuming  by  his  authority  to  pacific  the  mis- 
chiefe:  But  when  hee  cast  his  eyes  upon  us,  and  saw 
that  we  were  like  to  surprise  the  ship,  he  threw 
downc  his  Curtleaxe,  and  begged  us  to  save  his  life, 
intimating  unto  Razvlins,  how  he  had  redeemed  him 
from  Villa-Rise,  and  ever  since  admitted  him  to  place 
of  command  in  the  ship,  besides  honest  usage  in  the 
whole  course  of  the  Voyage.  All  which  Rawlins 
confessed,  and  at  last  condescended  to  mercy,  and 
brought  the  Captaine  and  five  more  into  England. 
The  Captain  was  called  Ra?ntham-Rise,  but  his 
Christen  name,  Henry  Chandler,  and  as  they  say, 
was  a  Chandler's  sonne  in  Southwarke.  lohn  Good- 
ale,  was  also  an  English  Turke.  Richard  Clarke,  in 
Turkish,  lafar;  George  Cooke,  Ramdam;  lohn 
Browne,  Mamnie;  William  Winter,  Mustapha;  be- 
sides all  the  slaves  and  Hollanders,  with  other 
Renegadoes,  who  were  willing  to  be  reconciled  to 
their  true  Saviour,  as  being  formerly  seduced  with 
the  hopes  of  riches,  honour,  preferment,  and  such 
like  devillish  baits,  to  catch  the  soules  of  mortall 
men,  and  entangle  frailty  in  the  fetters  of  horrible 
abuses,  and  imposturing  deceit. 


THE  WONDERFUL  FIGHT  87 

When  all  was  done,  and  the  ship  cleared  of  the 
dead  bodies,  lohn  Rawlins  assembled  his  men  to- 
gether, and  with  one  consent  gave  the  praise  unto 
God,  using  the  accustomed  service  on  ship-boord, 
and  for  want  of  bookes  lifted  up  their  voyces  to 
God,  as  he  put  into  their  hearts,  or  renewed  their 
memories:  then  did  they  sing  a  Psalme,  and  last  of 
all,  embraced  one  another  for  playing  the  men  in 
such  a  Deliverance,  whereby  our  feare  was  turned 
into  joy,  and  trembling  hearts  exhillirated,  that  we 
had  escaped  such  inevitable  dangers,  and  especially 
the  slavery  and  terror  of  bondage,  worse  than  death 
it  selfe.  The  same  night  we  washed  our  ship,  put 
every  thing  in  as  good  order  as  we  could,  repaired 
the  broken  quarter,  set  up  the  Binnacle,  and  bore  up 
the  Helme  for  England,  where  by  Gods  grace  and 
good  guiding,  we  arrived  at  PUmmoth,  the  thir- 
teenth of  February,  and  were  welcommed  like  the 
recovery  of  the  lost  sheepe,  or  as  you  read  of  a  lov- 
ing mother,  that  runneth  with  embraces  to  entertaine 
her  Sonne  from  a  long  Voyage  and  escape  of  many 
dangers. 

Not  long  after  we  understood  of  our  confeder- 
ats,  that  returned  home  in  the  Barke  of  Torbay, 
that  they  arrived  in  Pensance  in  Corne-wall  the 
eleventh  of  February:  and  if  any  aske  after  their 
deliverance,  considering  there  were  ten  Turkes  sent 
to  man  her,  I  will  tell  you  that  too:  the  next  day 
after  they  lost  us,  as  you  have  heard  and  that  the 
three    Renegadoes    had    acquainted    the    Masters 


88  GREAT  PIRATE  STORIES 

Mate,  and  the  two  English  in  her  with  Raivlins  de- 
termination, and  that  they  themselves  would  be  true 
to  them,  and  assist  them  in  any  enterprise:  then 
if  the  worst  came,  there  were  hut  seven  to  sixe:  but 
as  it  fell  out,  they  had  a  more  easie  passage,  then 
turmoile,  or  man-slaughter.  For  they  made  the 
Turkes  beleeve,  the  wind  was  come  faire,  and  that 
they  were  sayling  to  Algicr,  till  they  came  within 
sight  of  England,  which  one  of  them  amongst  the 
rest  discovered,  saying  plainely,  that  that  land  was 
not  like  Cape  Vincent;  "yes  faith,"  said  he,  that  was 
at  the  Helme,  "and  you  will  be  contented,  and  goe 
downe  into  the  hold,  and  trim  the  salt  over  to  wind- 
ward, whereby  the  ship  may  beare  full  saile,  you  shall 
know  and  see  more  to  morrow":  Whereupon  five  of 
them  went  downe  very  orderly,  the  Renegadoes 
faining  themselves  asleep,  who  presently  start  up, 
and  with  the  helpe  of  the  two  English,  nailed  downe 
the  hatches,  whereat  the  principall  amongst  them 
much  repined,  and  began  to  grow  into  choUer  and 
rage,  had  it  not  quickly  beene  suppressed.  For  one 
of  them  stepped  to  him,  and  dasht  out  his  braines, 
and  threw  him  over-boord :  the  rest  were  brought 
to  Excester,  and  either  to  be  arraigned,  according 
to  the  punishment  of  delinquents  in  such  a  kind,  or 
disposed  of,  as  the  King  and  Counsell  shall  thinke 
meet  and  this  is  the  story  of  this  deliverance,  and 
end  of  lohn  Razvlins  Voyage.  The  Actors  In  this 
Comick  Tragedle  are  most  of  them  alive;  The 
Turkes  are  in  prison;  the  ship  is  to  be  seene,  and 
Rawlins  himselfe  dare  justifie  the  matter. 


THE  DAUGHTER  OF  THE  GREAT 
MOGUL  * 

Daniel  Defoe 

IN  this  time  I  pursued  my  voyage,  coasted  the 
whole  Malabar  shore,  and  met  with  no  purchase 
but  a  great  Portugal  East  India  ship,  which  I 
chased  into  Goa,  where  she  got  out  of  my  reach. 
I  took  several  small  vessels  and  barks,  but  little  of 
value  in  them,  till  I  entered  the  great  Bay  of  Ben- 
gal, when  I  began  to  look  about  me  with  more  ex- 
pectation of  success,  though  without  prospect  of 
what  happened. 

I  cruised  here  about  two  months,  finding  nothing 
worth  while;  so  I  stood  away  to  a  port  on  the 
north  point  of  the  isle  of  Sumatra,  where  I  made 
no  stay;  for  here  I  got  news  that  two  large  ships 
belonging  to  the  Great  Mogul  were  expected  to 
cross  the  bay  from  Hoogly,  in  the  Ganges,  to  the 
country  of  the  King  of  Pegu,  being  to  carry  the 
granddaughter  of  the  Great  Mogul  to  Pegu,  who 
was  to  be  married  to  the  king  of  that  country,  with 
all  her  retinue,  jewels,   and  wealth. 

This  was  a  booty  worth  watching  for,  though  it 
had  been  some  months  longer;  so  I  resolved  that 

*  From  The  King  of  the  Pirates. 

8q 


90  GREAT  PIRATE  STORIES 

we  would  p;o  and  cruise  off  Point  Nci^aris,  on  the 
cast  side  of  the  bay,  near  Diamond  Isle;  and  here 
\vc  plied  off  and  on  for  three  weeks,  and  began  to 
despair  of  success;  but  the  knowledge  of  the  booty 
we  expected  spurred  us  on,  and  we  waited  with 
great  patience,  for  we  knew  the  prize  would  be  im- 
mensely rich. 

At  length  we  spied  three  ships  coming  right  up 
to  us  with  the  wind.  We  could  easily  see  they  were 
not  Europeans  by  their  sails,  and  began  to  prepare 
ourselves  for  a  prize,  not  for  a  fight;  but  were  a 
little  disappointed  when  we  found  the  first  ship  full 
of  guns  and  full  of  soldiers,  and  in  condition,  had 
she  been  managed  by  English  sailors,  to  have  fought 
two  such  ships  as  ours  were.  However,  we  re- 
solved to  attack  her  if  she  had  been  full  of  devils  as 
she  was  full  of  men. 

Accordingly,  when  we  came  near  them,  we  fired  a 
gun  with  shot  as  a  challenge.  They  fired  again  im- 
mediately three  or  four  guns,  but  fired  them  so  con- 
fusedly that  we  could  easily  see  they  did  not  under- 
stand their  business;  when  we  considered  how  to  lay 
them  on  board,  and  so  to  come  thwart  them,  if  we 
could;  but  falling,  for  want  of  wind,  open  to  them, 
we  gave  them  a  fair  broadside.  We  could  easily 
see,  by  the  confusion  that  was  on  board,  that  they 
were  frightened  out  of  their  wits;  they  fired  here  a 
gun  and  there  a  gun,  and  some  on  that  side  that  was 
from  us,  as  well  as  those  that  were  next  to  us.  The 
next  thing  we  did  was  to  lay  them  on  board,  which 


DAUGHTER  OF  THE  GREAT  MOGUL    91 

we  did  presently,  and  then  gave  them  a  volley  of 
our  small  shot,  which,  as  they  stood  so  thick,  killed 
a  great  many  of  them,  and  made  all  the  rest  run 
down  under  their  hatches,  crying  out  like  creatures 
bewitched.  In  a  word,  we  presently  took  the  ship, 
and  having  secured  her  men,  we  chased  the  other 
two.  One  was  chiefly  filled  with  women,  and  the 
other  with  lumber.  Upon  the  whole,  as  the  grand- 
daughter of  the  Great  Mogul  was  our  prize  in  the 
first  ship,  so  in  the  second  was  her  women,  or,  in  a 
word,  her  household,  her  eunuchs,  all  the  necessaries 
of  her  wardrobe,  of  her  stables,  and  of  her  kitchen; 
and  in  the  last,  great  quantities  of  household  stuff, 
and  things  less  costly,  though  not  less  useful. 

But  the  first  was  the  main  prize.  When  my  men 
had  entered  and  mastered  the  ship,  one  of  our  lieu- 
tenants called  for  me,  and  accordingly  I  jumped  on 
board.  He  told  me  he  thought  nobody  but  I  ought 
to  go  into  the  great  cabin,  or,  at  least,  nobody  should 
go  there  before  me;  for  that  the  lady  herself  and 
all  her  attendance  was  there,  and  he  feared  the  men 
were  so  heated  they  would  murder  them  all,  or  do 
worse. 

I  immediately  went  to  the  great  cabin  door,  tak- 
ing the  lieutenant  that  called  me  along  with  me,  and 
caused  the  cabin  door  to  be  opened.  But  such  a 
sight  of  glory  and  misery  was  never  seen  by  buc- 
caneer before.  The  queen  (for  such  she  was  to 
have  been)  was  all  in  gold  and  silver,  but  frightened 
and  crying,  and,  at  the  sight  of  me,  she  appeared 


92  GREAT  PIRATE  STORIES 

trembling,  and  just  as  if  she  was  going  to  die.  She 
sat  on  the  side  of  a  kind  of  a  bed  like  a  couch,  with 
no  canopy  over  it,  or  any  covering;  only  made  to  lie 
down  upon.  She  was,  in  a  manner,  covered  with 
diamonds,  and  I,  like  a  true  pirate,  soon  let  her  see 
that  I  had  more  mind  to  the  jewels  than  to  the  lady. 

However,  before  I  touched  her,  I  ordered  the 
lieutenant  to  place  a  guard  at  the  cabin  door,  and 
fastening  the  door,  shut  us  both  in,  which  he  did. 
The  lady  was  young,  and,  I  suppose,  in  their  country 
esteem,  very  handsome,  but  she  was  not  very  much 
so  in  my  thoughts.  At  first,  her  fright,  and  the 
danger  she  thought  she  was  in  of  being  killed, 
taught  her  to  do  everything  that  she  thought  might 
interpose  between  her  and  danger,  and  that  was  to 
take  off  her  jewels  as  fast  as  she  could,  and  give 
them  to  me;  and  I,  without  any  great  compliment, 
took  them  as  fast  as  she  gave  them  me,  and  put 
them  into  my  pocket,  taking  no  great  notice  of 
them  or  of  her,  which  frighted  her  worse  than  all 
the  rest,  and  she  said  something  which  I  could  not 
understand.  However,  two  of  the  other  ladies 
came,  all  crying,  and  kneeled  down  to  me  with  their 
hands  lifted  up.  What  they  meant,  I  knew  not  at 
first;  but  by  their  gestures  and  pointings  I 
found  at  last  it  was  to  beg  the  young  queen's  life, 
and  that  I  would  not  kill  her. 

When  the  three  ladies  kneeled  down  to  me,  and 
as  soon  as  I  understood  what  it  was  for,  I  let 
them  know  I  would  not  hurt  the  queen,  nor  let  any 


DAUGHTER  OF  THE  GREAT  MOGUL     93 

one  else  hurt  her,  but  that  she  must  give  me  all  her 
jewels  and  money.  Upon  this  they  acquainted  her 
that  I  would  save  her  life;  and  no  sooner  had  they 
assured  her  of  that  but  she  got  up  smiling,  and  went 
to  a  fine  Indian  cabinet,  and  opened  a  private 
drawer,  from  whence  she  took  another  little  thing 
full  of  little  square  drawers  and  holes.  This  she 
brings  to  me  in  her  hand,  and  offered  to  kneel  down 
to  give  it  me.  This  innocent  usage  began  to  rouse 
some  good-nature  in  me  (though  I  never  had 
much),  and  I  would  not  let  her  kneel;  but  sitting 
down  myself  on  the  side  of  her  couch  or  bed,  made 
a  motion  to  her  to  sit  down  too.  But  here  she  was 
frightened  again,  it  seems,  at  what  I  had  no  thought 
of.  But  as  I  did  not  offer  anything  of  that  kind, 
only  made  her  sit  down  by  me,  they  began  all  to  be 
easier  after  some  time,  and  she  gave  me  the  little 
box  or  casket,  I  know  not  what  to  call  it,  but  it  was 
full  of  invaluable  jewels.  I  have  them  still  in  my 
keeping,  and  wish  they  were  safe  in  England;  for  I 
doubt  not  but  some  of  them  are  fit  to  be  placed  on 
the  king's  crown. 

Being  master  of  this  treasure,  I  was  very  willing 
to  be  good-humored  to  the  persons;  so  I  went  out  of 
the  cabin,  and  caused  the  women  to  be  left  alone, 
causing  the  guard  to  be  kept  still,  that  they  might 
receive  no  more  injury  than  I  would  do  them  myself. 

After  I  had  been  out  of  the  cabin  some  time,  a 
slave  of  the  women's  came  to  me,  and  made  sign  to 
me  that  the  queen  would  speak  with  me  again.     I 


94  (iRl':AT  PIRATI-:  S'iORlES 

mudc  si^ns  back  that  I  would  come  and  dine  with 
her  majesty;  and  accordingly  1  ordered  that  her 
servants  should  prepare  her  dinner,  and  carry  it  in, 
and  then  call  me.  They  provided  her  repast  after 
the  usual  manner,  and  when  she  saw  it  brought  in 
she  appeared  pleased,  and  more  when  she  saw  me 
come  in  after  it;  for  she  was  exceedingly  pleased 
that  I  had  caused  a  guard  to  keep  the  rest  of  my 
men  from  her;  and  she  had,  it  seems,  been  told 
how  rude  they  had  been  to  some  of  the  women  that 
belonged  to  her. 

When  I  came  in,  she  rose  up,  and  paid  me  such 
respect  as  I  did  not  well  know  how  to  receive,  and 
not  in  the  least  how  to  return.  If  she  had  under- 
stood English,  I  could  have  said  plainly,  and  in  good 
rough  words,  "Madam,  be  easy;  we  are  rude,  rough- 
hewn  fellows,  but  none  of  our  men  should  hurt 
you,  or  touch  you;  I  will  be  your  guard  and  protec- 
tion; we  are  for  money  indeed,  and  we  shall  take 
what  you  have,  but  we  will  do  you  no  other  harm." 
But  as  I  could  not  talk  thus  to  her,  I  scarce  knew 
what  to  say;  but  I  sat  down,  and  made  signs  to  have 
her  sit  down  and  eat,  which  she  did,  but  with  so 
much  ceremony  that  I  did  not  know  well  what  to 
do  with  it. 

After  we  had  eaten,  she  rose  up  again,  and  drink- 
ing some  water  out  of  a  china  cup,  sat  her  down  on 
the  side  of  the  couch  as  before.  When  she  saw  I 
had  done  eating,  she  went  then  to  another  cabinet, 
and  pulling  out  a  drawer,  she  brought  it  to  me;  it 


I 


DAUGHTER  OF  THE  GREAT  MOGUL     95 

was  full  of  small  pieces  of  gold  coin  of  Pegu,  about 
as  big  as  an  English  half-guinea,  and  I  think  there 
were  three  thousand  of  them.  She  opened  several 
other  drawers,  and  showed  me  the  wealth  that  was 
in  them,  and  then  gave  me  the  key  of  the  whole. 

We  had  revelled  thus  all  day,  and  part  of  the 
next  day,  in  a  bottomless  sea  of  riches,  when  my 
lieutenant  began  to  tell  me,  we  must  consider  what 
to  do  with  our  prisoners  and  the  ships,  for  that 
there  was  no  subsisting  in  that  manner.  Upon  this 
we  called  a  short  council,  and  concluded  to  carry 
the  great  ship  away  with  us,  but  to  put  all  the  pris- 
oners— queen,  ladies,  and  all  the  rest — into  the  les- 
ser vessels,  and  let  them  go;  and  so  far  was  I  from 
ravishing  this  lady,  as  I  hear  is  reported  of  me,  that 
though  I  might  rifle  her  of  everything  else,  yet,  I  as- 
sure you,  I  let  her  go  untouched  for  me,  or,  as  I  am 
satisfied,  for  any  one  of  my  men;  nay,  when  we 
dismissed  them,  we  gave  her  leave  to  take  a  great 
many  things  of  value  with  her,  which  she  would 
have  been  plundered  of  if  I  had  not  been  so  careful 
of  her. 

We  had  now  wealth  enough  not  only  to  make 
us  rich,  but  almost  to  have  made  a  nation  rich;  and 
to  tell  you  the  truth,  considering  the  costly  things 
we  took  here,  which  we  did  not  know  the  value  of, 
and  besides  gold  and  silver  and  jewels, — I  say,  we 
never  knew  how  rich  we  were;  besides  which  we  had 
a  great  quantity  of  bales  of  goods,  as  well  calicoes 
as  wrought  silks,  which,  being  for  sale,  were  perhaps 


96  GREAT  PIRATE  STORIES 

as  a  cargo  of  goods  to  answer  the  bills  which  might 
be  drawn  upon  them  for  the  account  of  the  bride's 
portion;  all  which  fell  into  our  hands,  with  a  great 
sum  in  silver  coin,  too  big  to  talk  of  among  Eng- 
lishmen, especially  while  I  am  living,  for  reasons 
which  1  may  give  you  hereafter. 


! 


BARBAROSSA— KING  OF  THE  CORSAIRS  * 
E.  Hamilton  Currey,  R.  N. 

AT  the  coming  of  spring  Barbarossa  was  at  sea 
again  with  thirty-two  ships  ready  for  any 
eventuality,  his  crews  aflame  with  ardor  for 
revenge  against  those  by  whom  they  had  been  so 
roughly  handled.  He  chose  for  the  scene  of  opera- 
tions a  place  on  the  coast  of  Majorca  some  fifteen 
miles  from  Palma;  from  here  he  commanded  the 
route  of  the  Spaniards  from  their  country  to  the 
African  coast,  and  It  was  against  this  nation  that 
he  felt  a  great  bitterness  owing  to  recent  events. 
Eagerly  did  the  corsair  and  his  men  watch  for  the 
Spanish  ships,  the  heavier  vessels  lying  at  anchor, 
but  the  light,  swift  galleys  ranging  and  questing  afar 
so  that  none  might  be  missed.  Very  soon  the  vigi- 
lance of  the  Moslems  was  rewarded  by  the  capture 
of  a  number  of  vessels,  sent  by  Bernard  de  Mendoza 
laden  with  Turkish  and  Moorish  slaves,  destined  to 
be  utilized  as  rowers  in  the  Spanish  galleys.  These 
men  were  hailed  as  a  welcome  reinforcement,  and 
joyfully  joined  the  forces  of  Kheyr-ed-DIn  when  he 
moved  on  Minorca,  captured  the  castle  by  a  surprise 
assault,  raided  the  surrounding  country,  and  cap- 
*  From  Sea  Wolves  of  the  Mediterranean. 
•       97 


98  GRFAT  PIRATE  STORIES 

tured  five  thousand  seven  hundred  Christians, 
amongst  whom  were  eij^ht  hundred  men  who  had 
been  wounded  in  the  attack  on  Tunis — all  these  un- 
fortunates were  sent  to  refill  the  bagnio  of  Algiers. 

This  private  war  of  revenge  was,  however,  de- 
stined soon  to  come  to  an  end,  as  Soliman  the  Mag- 
nificent in  this  year  became  involved  in  disputes  with 
the  Venetian  Republic,  and  recalled  "that  veritable 
man  of  the  sea,"  as  Barharossa  had  been  described 
by  Ibrahim,  to  Constantinople. 

In  this  city  by  the  sea  there  had  taken  place  a 
tragedy  which,  although  it  only  involved  the  death 
of  a  single  man,  was  nevertheless  far-reaching  in 
its  consequences;  for  the  man  was  none  other  than 
that  great  statesman  Ibrahim,  Grand  Vizier,  and 
the  only  trusted  counsellor  of  the  Padishah.  He 
who  had  been  originally  a  slave  had  risen  step  by 
step  in  the  favor  of  his  master  until  he  arrived 
at  the  giddy  eminence  which  he  occupied  at  the  time 
of  his  death.  It  is  a  somewhat  curious  commentary 
on  the  essentially  democratic  status  of  an  autocracy 
that  a  man  could  thus  rise  to  a  position  second  only 
to  that  of  the  autocrat  himself;  and,  in  all  proba- 
bility, wielding  quite  as  much  power. 

Ibrahim  had  for  years  been  treated  by  Soliman 
more  as  a  brother  than  as  a  dependent,  which,  in 
spite  of  his  Grand  Viziership,  he  was  in  fact.  They 
lived  in  the  very  closest  communion,  taking  their 
meals  together,  and  even  sleeping  in  the  same  room, 
Soliman,  a  man  of  high  intelligence  himself,  and  a 


BARBAROSSA— KING  OF  CORSAIRS      99 

ruler  who  kept  in  touch  with  all  the  happenings 
which  arose  in  his  Immense  dominions,  desiring  al- 
ways to  have  at  hand  the  man  whom  he  loved;  from 
whom,  with  his  amazing  grip  of  political  problems 
and  endless  fertility  of  resource,  he  was  certain  of 
sympathy  and  sound  advice.  But  in  an  oriental  des- 
potism there  are  other  forces  at  work  besides  those 
of  la  haute  politique,  and  Ibrahim  had  one  deadly 
enemy  who  was  sworn  to  compass  his  destruction. 
The  Sultana  Roxalana  was  the  light  of  the  harem 
of  the  Grand  Turk.  This  supremely  beautiful 
woman,  originally  a  Russian  slave,  was  the  object  of 
the  most  passionate  devotion  on  the  part  of  Soli- 
man;  but  she  was  as  ambitious  as  she  was  lovely, 
and  brooked  no  rival  in  the  affections  of  Soliman, 
be  that  person  man,  woman,  or  child.  In  her  hands 
the  master  of  millions,  the  despot  whose  nod  was 
death,  became  a  submissive  slave;  the  undisciplined 
passions  of  this  headstrong  woman  swept  aside  from 
her  path  all  those  whom  she  suspected  of  sharing 
her  influence.  In  no  matter  how  remote  a  fashion. 
At  her  dictation  had  Soliman  caused  to  be  murdered 
his  son  Mustafa,  a  youth  of  the  brightest  promise, 
because,  in  his  Intelligence  and  his  winning  ways  he 
threatened  to  eclipse  Sellm,  the  son  of  Roxalana 
herself. 

This  woman  possessed  a  strong  natural  intelli- 
gence, albeit  she  was  totally  uneducated;  she  saw 
and  knew  that  Ibrahim  was  all-powerful  with  her 
lover,  and  this  roused  her  jealousy  to   fever-heat. 


100  GREAT  JMRATE  ST(JK1ES 

She  was  not  possessed  of  a  cool  jud^^mcnt,  which 
would  have  told  her  that  Ibrahim  was  a  statesman 
dealing  with  the  external  affairs  of  the  Sublime 
Porte,  and  that  with  her  and  with  her  affairs  he 
neither  desired,  nor  had  he  the  power,  to  interfere. 
What,  however,  the  Sultana  did  know  was  that  in 
these  same  affairs  of  State  her  opinion  was  dust  in 
the  balance  when  weighed  against  that  of  the  Grand 
Vizier. 

Soliman  had  that  true  attribute  of  supreme  great- 
ness, the  unerring  aptitude  for  the  choice  of  the 
right  man.  He  had  picked  out  Ibrahim  from  among 
his  immense  entourage,  and  never  once  had  he  re- 
gretted his  choice.  As  time  went  on  and  the  intel- 
lect and  power  of  the  man  became  more  and  more 
revealed  to  his  master,  that  sovereign  left  in  his 
hands  even  such  matters  as  despots  are  apt  to  guard 
most  jealously.  We  have  seen  how,  in  spite  of  the 
murmurings  of  the  whole  of  his  capital,  and  the  al- 
most insubordinate  attitude  of  his  navy,  he  had  per- 
severed in  the  appointment  of  Kheyr-ed-Din  Bar- 
barossa,  because  the  judgment  of  Ibrahim  was  in  fa- 
vor of  its  being  carried  out.  This,  to  Roxalana, 
was  gall  and  wormwood;  well  she  knew  that,  as  long 
as  the  Grand  Vizier  lived,  her  sovereignty  was  at 
best  but  a  divided  one.  There  was  a  point  at  which 
her  blandishments  stopped  short;  this  was  when  she 
found  that  her  opinion  did  not  coincide  with  that  of 
the  minister.     She  was,  as  we  have  seen  in  the  in- 


BARBAROSSA— KING  OF  CORSAIRS    101 

stance  of  her  son,  not  a  woman  to  stick  at  trifles,  and 
she  decided  that  Ibrahim  must  die. 

There  could  be  no  hole-and-corner  business  about 
this;  he  must  die,  and  when  his  murder  had  been  ac- 
complished she  would  boldly  avow  to  her  lover 
what  she  had  done  and  take  the  consequences,  be- 
lieving in  her  power  over  him  to  come  scatheless 
out  of  the  adventure.  In  those  days,  when  human 
life  was  so  cheap,  she  might  have  asked  for  the 
death  of  almost  any  one,  and  her  whim  would  have 
been  gratified  by  a  lover  who  had  not  hesitated  to 
put  to  death  his  own  son  at  her  dictation.  But  with 
Ibrahim  it  was  another  matter;  he  was  the  familiar 
of  the  Sultan,  his  alter  ego  in  fact.  It  says  much  for 
the  nerve  of  the  Sultana  that  she  dared  so  greatly 
on  this  memorable  and  lamentable  occasion. 

On  March  5th,  1536,  Ibrahim  went  to  the  royal 
seraglio,  and,  following  his  ancient  custom,  was  ad- 
mitted to  the  table  of  his  master,  sleeping  after  the 
meal  at  his  side.  At  least  so  it  was  supposed,  but 
none  knew  save  those  engaged  in  the  murder  what 
passed  on  that  fatal  night;  the  next  day  his  dead 
body  lay  in  the  house  of  the  Sultan. 

Across  the  floor  of  jasper,  in  that  palace  which 
was  a  fitting  residence  for  one  rightly  known  as 
"The  Magnificent,"  the  blood  of  Ibrahim  flowed  to 
the  feet  of  Roxalana.  The  disordered  clothing,  the 
terrible  expression  of  the  face  of  the  dead  man,  the 
gaping  wounds  which  he  had  received,  bore  witness 
that  there  had  taken  place  a  grim  struggle  before 


102        gri:at  piKA'ii-:  stories 

that  iron  frame  and  splendid  intellect  had  been 
leveled  with  the  dust.  This  much  leaked  out  after- 
wards, as  such  things  will  leak  out,  and  then  the 
Sultana  took  Soliman  into  her  chamber  and  gazed 
up  into  his  eyes.  The  man  was  stunned  by  the  im- 
mensity of  the  calamity  which  had  befallen  him  and 
his  kingdom,  but  his  manhood  availed  him  not 
against  the  wiles  of  this  Circe.  Ibrahim  had  been 
foully  done  to  death  in  his  own  palace,  and  this 
woman  clinging  so  lovingly  round  his  neck  now  was 
the  murderess.  The  heart's  blood  of  his  best  friend 
was  coagulating  on  the  threshold  of  his  own  apart- 
ment when  he  forgave  her  by  whom  his  murder  had 
been  accomplished.  This  was  the  vengeance  of 
Roxalana,  and  who  shall  say  that  it  was  not  com- 
plete? 

The  Ottoman  Empire  was  the  poorer  by  the  loss 
of  its  greatest  man,  the  jealousy  of  the  Sultana  was 
assuaged,  the  despot  who  had  permitted  this  un- 
avenged murder  was  still  on  the  throne,  thrall  to  the 
woman  who  had  first  murdered  his  son  and  then  his 
friend  and  minister.  But  the  deed  carried  with  it 
the  evil  consequences  which  were  only  too  likely  to 
occur  when  so  capable  a  head  of  the  State  was  re- 
moved at  so  critical  a  time.  Renewed  strife  was  in 
the  air,  and  endless  squabbles  between  Venice  and 
the  Porte  were  taking  place.  With  these  we  have 
no  concern,  but,  in  addition  to  other  complaints, 
there  were  loud  and  continuous  ones  concerning  the 
corsairs.      Venice,    "The   Bride    of   the    Sea,"   had 


BARBAROSSA— KING  OF  CORSAIRS    103 

neither  rest  nor  peace;  the  pirates  swarmed  in 
Corfu,  in  Zante,  in  Candia,  in  Cephalonia,  and  the 
plunder  and  murder  of  the  subjects  of  the  Republic 
was  the  theme  of  the  perpetual  representations  to 
the  Sultan.  The  balance  of  advantage  in  this  guer- 
illa warfare  was  with  the  corsairs  until  Girolame 
Canale,  a  Venetian  captain,  seized  one  of  the  Mos- 
lem leaders  known  as  "The  Young  Moor  of  Alex- 
andria." The  victory  of  Canale  was  somewhat  an 
important  one  as  he  captured  the  galley  of  "The 
Young  Moor"  and  four  others;  t^vo  more  were  sunk, 
and  three  hundred  Janissaries  and  one  thousand 
slaves  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  Venetian  comman- 
der. There  being  an  absence  of  nice  feeling  on  the 
part  of  tne  Venetians,  the  Janissaries  were  at  once 
beheaded  to  a  man. 

The  whole  story  is  an  illustration  of  the  extraor- 
dinary relations  existing  among  the  Mediterranean 
States  at  this  time.  Soliman  the  Magnificent,  Sul- 
tan of  Turkey,  had  lent  three  hundred  of  his  Janis- 
saries, his  own  picked  troops,  to  assist  the  corsairs 
in  their  depredations  on  Venetian  commerce.  Hav- 
ing done  this,  and  the  Janissaries  having  been  caught 
and  summarily  and  rightly"  put  to  death  as  pirates, 
the  Sultan,  as  soon  as  he  heard  of  what  had  oc- 
curred, sent  an  ambassador,  one  Yonis  Bey,  to  Ven- 
ice to  demand  satisfaction  for  the  insult  passed  upon 
him  by  the  beheading  of  his  own  soldiers  turned  pi- 
rates. The  conclusion  of  the  affair  was  that  the 
Venetians   released   "The   Young   Moor   of  Alex- 


104  GREAT  PIRATE  STORIES 

anclria"  as  soon  as  he  was  cured  of  the  eight  wounds 
which  he  had  received  in  the  conflict,  and  sent  him 
back  to  Africa  with  such  of  his  galleys  as  were  left. 
There  was  one  rather  comical  incident  in  connection 
with  this  affair,  which  was  that  when  Yonis  Bey 
was  on  his  way  from  Constantinople  to  Venice  he 
was  chased  by  a  Venetian  fleet  under  the  command 
of  the  Count  Grandenico,  and  driven  ashore.  The 
Count  was  profuse  in  his  apologies  when  he  dis- 
covered that  he  had  been  chasing  a  live  ambassa- 
dor; but  the  occurrence  so  exasperated  Soliman  that 
he  increased  his  demands  in  consequence. 

Barbarossa,  who  had  spent  his  time  harrying  the 
Spaniards  at  sea  ever  since  the  fall  of  Tunis,  was 
shortly  to  appear  on  the  scene  again.  He  received 
orders  from  the  Sultan,  and  came  as  fast  as  a  fa- 
voring wind  would  bring  him.  Kheyr-ed-Din  had 
been  doing  well  in  the  matter  of  slaves  and  plunder, 
but  he  knew  that,  with  the  backing  of  the  Grand 
Turk,  he  would  once  again  be  in  command  of  a 
fleet  in  which  he  might  repeat  his  triumph  of  past 
years,  and  prove  himself  once  more  the  indispen- 
sable "man  of  the  sea." 

Soon  after  his  arrival  his  ambitions  were  grati- 
fied, and  he  found  himself  with  a  fleet  of  one  hun- 
dred ships.  Since  the  death  of  Ibrahim,  and  the  in. 
cident  which  terminated  with  the  dispatch  of  Yonis 
Bey  to  Venice,  the  relations  between  the  Grand 
Turk  and  the  Venetian  Republic  had  become  stead- 
ily worse,  and  at  last  the  Sultan  declared  war.     On 


BARBAROSSA— KING  OF  CORSAIRS    105 

May  17th,  1537,  Soliman,  accompanied  by  his  two 
sons,  Selim  and  Mohammed,  left  Constantinople. 
With  the  campaign  conducted  by  the  Sultan  we  are 
not  concerned  here;  it  was  directed  against  the 
Ionian  Islands,  which  had  been  in  the  possession  of 
Venice  since  1401.  On  August  i8th  Soliman  laid 
siege  to  Corfu,  and  was  disastrously  beaten,  re-em- 
barking his  men  on  September  7th,  after  losing 
thousands  in  a  fruitless  attack  on  the  fortress.  He 
returned  to  Constantinople  utterly  discomfited.  It 
was  the  seventh  campaign  which  the  Sultan  had  con- 
ducted in  person,  but  the  first  in  which  the  ever- 
faithful  Ibrahim  had  not  been  by  his  side. 

This  defeat  at  the  hands  of  the  Venetians  was 
not,  however,  the  only  humiliation  which  he  was 
destined  to  experience  in  this  disastrous  year;  for 
once  again  Doria,  that  scourge  of  the  Moslem,  was 
loose  upon  the  seas,  and  was  making  his  presence  felt 
in  the  immediate  neighborhood  of  Corfu,  where 
the  Turks  had  been  defeated.  On  July  17th  Andrea 
had  left  the  port  of  Messina  with  twenty-five  gal- 
leys, had  captured  ten  richly  laden  Turkish  ships, 
gutted  and  burned  them.  Kheyr-ed-Din  was  at  sea 
at  the  time,  but  the  great  rivals  were  not  destined 
to  meet  on  this  occasion.  Instead  of  Barbarossa, 
Andrea  fell  in  with  Ali-Chabelli,  the  lieutenant  of 
Sandjak  Bey  of  Gallipoli.  On  July  22nd  the  Gen- 
oese admiral  and  the  Turkish  commander  from  the 
Dardanelles  met  to  the  southward  of  Corfu,  off  the 
small  island  of  Paxo,  and  a  smart  action  ensued.    It 


106  GREAT  PIRATE  STORIES 

ended  in  the  defeat  of  Ali-Chahelli,  whose  galleys 
were  captured  and  towed  by  Doria  into  Paxo.  That 
veteran  fighter  was  himself  in  the  thickest  of  the 
fray,  and,  conspicuous  in  his  crimson  doublet,  had 
been  an  ol)ject  of  attention  to  the  marksmen  of  Cha- 
belli  during  the  entire  action.  In  spite  of  the  re- 
ceipt of  a  severe  wound  in  the  knee,  the  admiral  re- 
fused to  go  below  until  victory  was  assured.  He 
was  surrounded  at  this  time  by  a  devoted  band  of 
nobles  sworn  to  defend  the  person  of  their  admiral 
or  to  die  in  his  defense.  His  portrait  has  been 
sketched  for  us  at  this  time  by  the  Dominican  FViar, 
Padre  Alberto  Guglielmotto,  author  of  "La  guerra 
dei  Pirati  e  la  marina  Pontifica  dal  1500  al  1560." 
The  description  runs  thus:  "Andrea  Doria  was  of 
lofty  stature,  his  face  oval  in  shape,  forehead  broad 
and  commanding,  his  neck  was  powerful,  his  hair 
short,  his  beard  long  and  fan-shaped,  his  lips  were 
thin,  his  eyes  bright  and  piercing." 

Once  again  had  he  defeated  an  officer  of  the 
Grand  Turk;  and  it  may  be  remarked  that  Ibrahim 
was  probably  quite  right  in  the  estimation,  or  rather 
in  the  lack  of  estimation,  in  which  he  held  the  sea- 
officers  of  his  master,  as  they  seem  to  have  been 
deficient  in  every  quality  save  that  of  personal 
valor,  and  in  their  encounters  with  Doria  and  the 
knights  were  almost  invariably  worsted.  For  the 
sake  of  Islam,  for  the  prestige  of  the  Moslem  arms 
at  sea,  it  was  time  that  Barbarossa  should  take  mat- 
ters in  hand  once  more. 


BARBAROSSA— KING  OF  CORSAIRS    107 

The  autumn  of  this  year  1537  proved  that  the 
old  Sea-wolf  had  lost  none  of  his  cunning,  that  his 
followers  were  as  terrible  as  ever.  What  did  it 
seem  to  matter  that  Venetian  and  Catalan,  Genoese 
and  Frenchman,  Andalusian  and  the  dwellers  in  the 
Archipelago,  were  all  banded  together  in  league 
against  this  common  foe?  Did  not  the  redoubtable 
Andrea  range  the  seas  in  vain,  and  were  not  all  the 
efforts  of  the  Knights  of  Saint  John  futile,  when  the 
son  of  the  renegado  from  Mitylene  and  his  Chris- 
tian wife  put  forth  from  the  Golden  Horn?  What 
was  the  magic  of  this  man,  it  was  asked  despairingly, 
that  none  seemed  able  to  prevail  against  him?  Had 
it  not  been  currently  reported  that  Carlos  Quinto, 
the  great  Emperor,  had  driven  him  forth  from  Tu- 
nis a  hunted  fugitive,  broken  and  penniless,  with 
never  a  galley  left,  without  one  ducat  in  his  pocket? 
Was  he  so  different,  then,  from  all  the  rest  of  man- 
kind that  his  followers  would  stick  to  him  in  evil 
report  as  well  as  in  the  height  of  his  prosperity? 
Men  swore  and  women  crossed  themselves  at  the 
mention  of  his  name. 

"Terrible  as  an  army  with  banners,"  indeed,  was 
Kheyr-ed-Din  in  this  eventful  summer:  things  had 
gone  badly  with  the  crescent  flag,  the  Padishah  was 
unapproachable  in  his  palace,  brooding  perchance 
on  that  "might  have  been"  had  he  not  sold  his 
honor  and  the  life  of  his  only  friend  to  gratify  the 
malice  of  a  she-devil;  those  in   attendance  on  the 


108  GREAT  PIRATE  STORIES 

Sultan  trembled,  for  the  humor  of  the  despot 
was  black  indeed. 

But  "the  veritable  man  of  the  sea"  was  in  some 
sort  to  console  him  for  that  which  he  had  lost;  as 
never  in  his  own  history — and  there  was  none  else 
with  which  it  could  be  compared — had  the  Corsair 
King  made  so  fruitful  a  raid.  He  ravaged  the  coasts 
of  the  Adriatic  and  the  islands  of  the  Archipelago, 
sweeping  in  slaves  by  the  thousand,  and  by  the  end 
of  the  year  he  had  collected  eighteen  thousand  in  the 
arsenal  at  Stamboul.  Great  was  the  jubilation  in 
Constantinople  when  the  Admiralissimo  himself  re- 
turned from  his  last  expedition  against  the  infidel; 
stilled  were  the  voices  which  hinted  disaffection — 
who  among  them  all  could  bring  back,  four  hundred 
thousand  pieces  of  gold?  What  mariner  could  of- 
fer to  the  Grand  Turk  such  varied  and  magnificent 
presents? 

Upon  his  arrival  Barbarossa  asked  permission  to 
kiss  the  threshold  of  the  palace  of  the  Sultan,  which 
boon  being  graciously  accorded  to  him,  he  made  his 
triumphal  entry.  Two  hundred  captives  clad  in 
scarlet  robes  carried  cups  of  gold  and  flasks  of  sil- 
ver; behind  them  came  thirty  others,  each  staggering 
under  an  enormous  purse  of  sequins;  yet  another 
two  hundred  brought  collars  of  precious  stones  or 
bales  of  the  choicest  goods;  and  a  further  two  hun- 
dred were  laden  with  sacks  of  small  coin.  Cer- 
tainly if  Soliman  the  Magnificent  had  lost  a  Grand 
Vizier  he  had  succeeded  in  finding  an  admirall 


BARBAROSSA— KING  OF  CORSAIRS    109 

All  through  the  earlier  months  of  1538  the  dock- 
yards of  Constantinople  hummed  with  a  furious 
activity,  for  Soliman  had  decreed  that  the  maritime 
campaign  of  this  year  was  to  begin  with  no  less 
than  one  hundred  and  fifty  ships.  His  admiral, 
however,  did  not  agree  with  this  decision;  to  the 
Viziers  he  raged  and  stormed.  "Listen,"  he  said, 
"O  men  of  the  land  who  understand  naught  of  the 
happenings  of  the  sea.  By  this  time  Saleh-Reis  must 
have  quitted  Alexandria  convoying  to  the  Bosphorus 
twenty  sail  filled  with  the  richest  merchandise; 
should  he  fall  in  with  the  accursed  Genoese,  Doria, 
where  then  will  be  Saleh-Reis  and  his  galleys  and 
his  convoy?  I  will  tell  you:  the  ships  in  Genoa, 
the  galleys  burned,  Saleh-Reis  and  all  his  mariners 
chained  to  the  rowers'  bench." 

The  Viziers  trembled  as  men  did  when  Barba- 
rossa  stormed  and  turned  upon  them  those  terrible 
eyes  which  knew  neither  fear  not  pity.  "We  be 
but  men,"  they  answered,  "and  our  lord  the  Sultan 
has  so  ordained  it." 

"I  have  forty  galleys,"  replied  the  corsair;  "you 
have  forty  more.  With  these  I  will  take  the  sea; 
but,  mark  you,"  he  continued,  softening  somewhat, 
"you  do  right  to  fear  the  displeasure  of  the  Sultan, 
and  I  also  have  no  wish  to  encounter  it;  but  vessels 
raised  and  equipped  in  a  hurry  will  be  of  small  use 
to  me.  In  the  name  of  Allah  the  compassionate 
and  his  holy  Prophet  give  me  my  eighty  galleys  and 
let  me  go." 


no  GREAT  PIRATE  STORIES 

In  Kheyr-cd-Dln  Barbarossa  sound  strategical 
instinct  went  hand  in  hand  with  the  desperate  valor 
of  the  corsair.  To  dally  in  the  )Golden  Horn 
while  so  rich  a  prey  was  at  sea  to  be  picked  up  by 
his  Christian  foes  was  altogether  opposed  to  his  in- 
stincts: never  to  throw  away  a  chance  in  the  game 
of  life  had  ever  been  his  guiding  principle. 

Soliman,  great  man  as  he  undoubtedly  was,  had 
not  the  adamantine  hardness  of  character  which 
enabled  his  admiral  to  risk  all  on  the  hazards  of  the 
moment;  or  possibly  the  Grand  Turk  was  deficient 
in  that  clearness  of  strategical  instinct  which  never 
in  any  circumstances  foregoes  a  present  advantage 
for  something  which  may  turn  out  well  in  a  prob- 
lematical future.  Soliman,  sore,  -sullen,  and  unap- 
proachable, dwelt  in  his  palace  brooding  over  the 
misfortunes  which  had  been  his  lot  since  the  death 
of  Ibrahim.  Barbarossa,  who  so  recently  had  lost 
practically  all  that  he  possessed,  and  who  had 
reached  an  age  at  which  most  men  have  no  hopes 
for  the  future,  was  as  clear  in  intellect,  as  un- 
daunted In  spirit,  as  if  he  had  been  half  a  century 
younger:  to  be  even  once  more  with  those  by  whom 
he  had  been  defeated  and  dispossessed  was  the  only 
thing  now  in  his  mind.  The  capture  of  Saleh-Reis 
and  his  convoy  would  be  a  triumph  of  which  he  could 
not  bear  to  think.  Further,  it  would  add  to  the  de- 
moralization of  the  sea  forces  of  the  Sultan,  which 
were  sadly  in  need  of  some  striking  success  after 
the  defeats  which  had  so  recently  been  their  por- 


BARBAROSSA— KING  OF  CORSAIRS   111 

tion.  The  Sultan  had  decided  that  one  hundred  and 
fifty  ships  were  necessary;  his  admiral  thought  other- 
wise. There  was  too  much  at  stake  for  him  to  dally 
at  Constantinople;  his  fiery  energy  swept  all  before 
it,  and  in  the  end  he  had  his  way.  On  June  7th, 
1538,  he  finally  triumphed  over  the  hesitations  of 
the  Viziers  and  put  to  sea  with  eighty  sail. 

The  Sultan,  from  his  kiosk,  the  windows  of  which 
opened  on  the  Bosphorus,  counted  the  ships. 

"Only  eighty  sail;  is  that  all?"  he  asked. 

The  trembling  Viziers  prostrated  themselves  be- 
fore him. 

"O  our  Lord,  the  Padishah,"  they  cried,  "Saleh- 
Reis  comes  from  Alexandria  with  a  rich  convoy; 
somewhere  lurking  is  Andrea  Doria,  the  accursed; 
it  was  necessary,  O  Magnificent,  to  send  succor." 

There  was  a  pause,  in  which  the  hearts  of  men 
beat  as  do  those  who  know  not  but  that  the  next 
moment  may  be  their  last  on  earth. 

The  Sultan  stared  from  his  window  at  the  re- 
treating ships  in  a  silence  like  the  silence  of  the 
grave.    At  last  he  turned: 

"So  be  it,"  he  answered  briefly;  "but  see  to  it 
that  reinforcements  do  not  lag  upon  the  road." 

If  there  had  been  activity  in  the  dockyards  before 
it  was  as  nothing  to  the  strenuous  work  that  was 
to  be  done  henceforward. 

Before  starting  on  this  expedition  Kheyr-ed-Din 
had  made  an  innovation  in  the  manning  of  some 
of  the  most  powerful  of  his  galleys,  which  was  of 


112  GREAT  PIRATE  STORIES 

the  utmost  importance,  and  which  was  to  add  enor- 
mously to  the  success  of  his  future  maritime  enter- 
prises. The  custom  had  always  been  that  the  Otto- 
man galleys  had  been  rowed  by  Christians,  cap- 
tured and  enslaved;  of  course  the  converse  was  true 
in  the  galleys  of  their  foes.  There  were,  for  the 
size  of  the  vessels,  an  enormous  number  of  men  car- 
ried in  the  galleys  of  the  sixteenth  century,  and  an 
average  craft  of  this  description  would  have  on 
board  some  four  hundred  men;  of  these,  however, 
the  proportion  would  be  two  hundred  and  fifty  slaves 
to  one  hundred  and  fifty  fighting  men.  That  which 
Kheyr-ed-Din  now  insisted  upon  was  that  a  certain 
proportion  of  his  most  powerful  units  should  be 
rowed  by  Moslem  fighting  men,  so  that  on  the  day 
of  battle  the  oarsmen  could  join  in  the  fray  instead 
of  remaining  chained  to  their  benches,  as  was  the 
custom  with  the  slaves.  It  is,  however,  an  extraor- 
dinary testimony  to  the  influnece  which  the  corsair 
had  attained  in  Constantinople  that  he  had  been 
able  to  effect  this  change  in  the  composition  of  some 
of  his  crews;  it  must  have  been  done  with  the  active 
cooperation  of  the  Sultan,  as  no  authority  less  po- 
tent than  that  of  the  sovereign  himself  could  have 
induced  free  men  to  undertake  the  terrible  toil  of 
rower  in  a  galley.  This  was  reserved  for  the  un- 
fortunate slave  on  either  side  owing  to  the  intoler- 
able hardship  of  the  life,  and  results,  in  the  pace 
at  which  a  galley  proceeded  through  the  water,  were 


BARBAROSSA— KING  OF  CORSAIRS    113 

usually  obtained  by  an  unsparing  use  of  the  lash 
on  the  naked  bodies  of  the  rowers. 

This  human  material  was  used  up  in  the  most 
prodigal  manner  possible,  as  those  in  command  had 
not  the  inducement  of  treating  the  rowers  well, 
from  that  economic  standpoint  which  causes  a  man 
to  so  use  his  beast  of  burden  as  to  get  the  best 
work  from  him.  In  the  galley,  when  a  slave  would 
row  no  more  he  was  flung  overboard  and  another 
was  put  in  his  place. 

The  admiral,  however,  even  when  backed  by  the 
Padishah,  could  not  man  a  large  fleet  of  galleys 
with  Moslem  rowers,  and,  as  there  was  a  shortage 
in  the  matter  of  propelling  power,  his  first  business 
was  to  collect  slaves,  and  for  this  purpose  he  visited 
the  islands  of  the  Archipelago.  The  lot  of  the  un- 
happy inhabitants  of  these  was  indeed  a  hard  one. 
They  were  nearer  to  the  seat  of  the  Moslem  power 
than  any  other  Christians;  they  were  in  those  days 
totally  unable  to  resist  an  attack  in  force,  and  in 
consequence  were  swept  off  in  their  thousands. 

Seven  islands  cover  the  entrance  to  the  Gulf  of 
Volo.  The  nearest  to  the  coast  is  Skiathos,  which  is 
also  the  most  important;  it  was  defended  by  a 
castle  built  upon  a  rock.  This  castle  was  attacked 
by  Barbarossa,  who  bombarded  it  for  six  days,  car- 
ried it  by  assault,  and  massacred  the  garrison.  He 
spared  the  lives  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  island,  and 
by  this  means  secured  three  thousand  four  hundred 
rowers  for  his  galleys.     He  had  to  provide  motor- 


114 


(iKI'A'i"   PIRA'n-:  S'lCJRlES 


power  for  the  reinforcements  which  he  expected.  In 
July  he  was  reinforced  from  Constantinople  by 
ninety  galleys,  while  from  Egypt  came  Saleh-Reis, 
who  had  succeeded  in  avoiding  the  terrible  Doria, 
with  twenty  more;  the  fleet  was  thus  complete. 


f 


MORGAN  AT  PUERTO  BELLO  * 

John  Esquemeling 

SOME  may  think  that  the  French  having  de- 
serted Captain  Morgan,  the  English  alone 
could  not  have  sufficient  courage  to  attempt 
such  great  actions  as  before.  But  Captain  Mor- 
gan, who  always  communicated  vigor  with  his 
words,  infused  such  spirit  into  his  men,  as  put  them 
instantly  upon  new  designs.  He  inspired  them 
with  the  belief  that  the  sole  execution  of  his  orders 
would  be  a  certain  means  of  obtaining  great  riches, 
which  so  influenced  their  minds,  that  with  inimitable 
courage  they  all  resolved  to  follow  him,  as  did  also  a 
certain  pirate  of  Campechy,  on  this  occasion  joined 
with  Captain  Morgan,  to  seek  new  fortunes  under 
his  conduct.  Thus  Captain  Morgan  in  a  few  days 
gathered  a  fleet  of  nine  sail,  either  ships  or  great 
boats,  wherein  he  had  four  hundred  and  sixty  mili- 
tary men. 

All  things  being  ready,  they  put  forth  to  sea,  Cap- 
tain Morgan  imparting  his  design  to  nobody  at 
present;  he  only  told  them  on  several  occasions,  that 
he  doubted  not  to  make  a  good  fortune  by  that  voy- 
age,  if  strange  occurrences  happened  not.     They 

*  From  The  Buccaneers  of  America. 

...  115 


116  GREAT  PIRATE  STORIES 

steered  towards  the  continent,  where  they  arrived 
in  a  few  days  near  Costa  Rica,  all  their  fleet  safe. 
No  sooner  had  they  discovered  land  hut  Captain 
Morgan  declared  his  intentions  to  the  captains,  and 
presently  after  to  the  company.  I  le  told  them  he  in- 
tended to  plunder  Puerto  Bello  by  night,  being  re- 
solved to  put  the  whole  city  to  the  sack:  and  to  en- 
courage them  he  added,  this  enterprise  could  not 
fail,  seeing  he  had  kept  it  secret,  without  revealing 
it  to  anybody,  whereby  they  could  not  have  notice 
of  his  coming.  To  this  proposition  some  answered, 
"they  had  not  a  sufficient  number  of  men  to  assault 
so  strong  and  great  a  city.  But  Captain  Morgan 
replied,  "If  our  number  is  small,  our  hearts  are 
great;  and  the  fewer  persons  we  are,  the  more 
union  and  better  shares  we  shall  have  in  the  spoil." 
Hereupon,  being  stimulated  with  the  hope  of  those 
vast  riches  they  promised  themselves  from  their 
success,  they  unanimously  agreed  to  that  design. 
Now,  that  my  reader  may  better  comprehend  the 
boldness  of  this  exploit,  it  may  be  necessary  to  say 
something  beforehand  of  the  city  of  Puerto  Bello. 
This  city  is  in  the  province  of  Costa  Rica,  lo  deg. 
north  latitude,  fourteen  leagues  from  the  gulf  of 
Darien,  and  eight  westwards  from  the  port  called 
Nombre  de  Dios.  It  is  judged  the  strongest  place 
the  king  of  Spain  possesses  in  all  the  West  Indies, 
except  Havanna  and  Carthagena.  Here  are  two 
castles  almost  impregnable,  that  defend  the  city,  sit- 
uate at  the  entry  of  the  port,  so  that  no  ship  or  boat 


MORGAN  AT  PUERTO  BELLO      117 

can  pass  without  permission.  The  garrison  con- 
sists of  three  hundred  soldiers,  and  the  town  is  in- 
habited by  four  hundred  families.  The  merchants 
dwell  not  here,  but  only  reside  a  while,  when  the 
galleons  come  from  or  go  for  Spain,  by  reason  of 
the  unhealthiness  of  the  air,  occasioned  by  vapors 
from  the  mountains;  so  that  though  their  chief 
warehouses  are  at  Puerto  Bello,  their  habitations 
are  at  Panama,  whence  they  bring  the  plate  upon 
mules  when  the  fair  begins,  and  when  the  ships  be- 
longing to  the  company  of  negroes  arrive  to  sell 
slaves. 

Captain  Morgan,  who  knew  very  well  all  the 
avenues  of  this  city  and  the  neighboring  coasts,  ar- 
rived in  the  evening  with  his  men  at  Puerto  de  Naos, 
ten  leagues  to  the  west  of  Puerto  Bello.  Being 
come  hither,  they  sailed  up  the  river  to  another  har- 
bor called  Puerto  Pontin,  where  they  anchored: 
here  they  put  themselves  into  boats  and  canoes,  leav- 
ing in  the  ships  only  a  few  men  to  bring  them  next 
day  to  the  port.  About  midnight  they  came  to  a 
place  called  Estera  longa  Lemos,  where  they  all 
went  on  shore  and  marched  by  land  to  the  first  posts 
of  the  city.  They  had  in  their  company  an  English- 
man, formerly  a  prisoner  in  those  parts,  who  now 
served  them  for  a  guide.  To  him  and  three  or  four 
more  they  gave  commission  to  take  the  sentinel,  if 
possible,  or  kill  him  on  the  place:  but  they  seized 
him  so  cunningly,  as  he  had  no  time  to  give  warning 
with  his  musket,  or  make  any  noise,   and  brought 


118  GREAT  PIRATE  STORIES 

him,  witli  his  hands  h(jund,  to  Captain  Morgan,  who 
asked  him  how  things  went  in  the  city,  and  what 
forces  they  had;  with  other  circumstances  he  de- 
sired to  know.  After  every  (juestion  they  made  him 
a  tliousand  menaces  to  kill  him,  if  he  declared  not 
the  truth.  Then  they  advanced  to  the  city,  carrying 
the  said  sentinel  bound  before  them  :  having  marched 
about  a  quarter  of  a  league,  they  came  to  the  castle 
near  the  city,  which  presently  they  closely  sur- 
rounded, so  that  no  person  couKI  get  either  in  or 
out. 

Being  posted  under  the  walls  of  the  castle,  Cap- 
tain Morgan  commanded  the  sentinel,  whom  they 
had  taken  prisoner,  to  speak  to  those  within,  charg- 
ing them  to  surrender  to  his  discretion;  otherwise 
they  should  all  be  cut  in  pieces,  without  quarter. 
But  disregarding  these  threats,  they  began  instantly 
to  fire,  which  alarmed  the  city;  yet  notwithstand- 
ing, though  the  governor  and  soldiers  of  the  said 
castle  made  as  great  resistance  as  could  be,  they 
were  forced  to  surrender.  Having  taken  the  castle, 
Morgan  resolved  to  be  as  good  as  his  word,  putting 
the  Spaniards  to  the  sword,  thereby  to  strike  a  ter- 
ror into  the  rest  of  the  city.  Whereupon,  having 
shut  up  all  the  soldiers  and  officers  as  prisoners  into 
one  room,  they  set  fire  to  the  powder  (whereof  they 
found  great  quantity)  and  blew  up  the  castle  into 
the  air,  with  all  the  Spaniards  that  were  within. 
This  done,  they  pursued  the  course  of  their  vic- 
tory,  falling  upon   the   city,  which  as  yet  was  not 


MORGAN  AT  PUERTO  BELLO      119 

ready  to  receive  them.  Many  of  the  inhabitants 
cast  their  precious  jewels  and  money  into  wells  and 
cisterns,  or  hid  them  in  places  underground,  to 
avoid  as  much  as  possible,  being  totally  robbed. 
One  of  the  party  of  pirates,  assigned  to  this  pur- 
pose, ran  immediately  to  the  cloisters,  and  took  as 
many  religious  men  and  women  as  they  could  find. 
The  governor  of  the  city,  not  being  able  to  rally 
the  citizens,  through  their  great  confusion,  retired 
to  one  of  the  castles  remaining,  and  thence  fired  in- 
cessantly at  the  pirates:  but  these  were  not  in  the 
least  negligent  either  to  assault  him,  or  defend 
themselves,  so  that  amidst  the  horror  of  the  assault, 
they  made  very  few  shots  in  vain;  for  aiming  with 
great  dexterity  at  the  mouths  of  the  guns,  the  Span- 
iards were  certain  to  lose  one  or  two  men  every 
time  they  charged  each  gun  anew. 

The  fight  continued  very  furious  from  break  of 
day  till  noon;  indeed,  about  this  time  of  the  day  the 
case  was  very  dubious  which  party  should  conquer, 
or  be  conquered.  At  last,  the  pirates  perceiving  they 
had  lost  many  men,  and  yet  advanced  but  little 
towards  gaining  either  this,  or  the  other  castles, 
made  use  of  fire-balls,  which  they  threw  with  their 
hands,  designing  to  burn  the  doors  of  the  castles. 
But  the  Spaniards  from  the  walls  let  fall  great  quan- 
tities of  stones,  and  earthen  pots  full  of  powder,  and 
other  combustible  matter,  which  forced  them  to 
desist.  Captain  Morgan  seeing  this  desperate  de- 
fence made  by  the  Spaniards,  began  to  despair  of 


120  GREAT  PIRATE  STORIES 

success.  Hereupon,  many  faint  and  calm  medita- 
tions came  into  his  mind;  neither  could  he  determine 
which  way  to  turn  himself  in  that  strait.  Being  thus 
puzzled,  he  was  suddenly  animated  to  continue  the 
assault,  by  seeing  the  English  colors  put  forth  at  one 
of  the  lesser  castles,  then  entered  by  his  men;  of 
whom  he  presently  after  spied  a  troop  coming  to 
meet  him,  proclaiming  victory  with  loud  shouts  of 
joy.  This  instantly  put  him  on  new  resolutions  of 
taking  the  rest  of  the  castles,  especially  seeing  the 
chiefest  citizens  were  fled  to  them,  and  had  conveyed 
thither  great  part  of  their  riches,  with  all  the  plate 
belonging  to  the  churches  and  divine  service. 

To  this  effect,  he  ordered  ten  or  twelve  ladders 
to  be  made  in  all  haste,  so  broad,  that  three  or 
four  men  at  once  might  ascend  them:  these  being 
finished,  he  commanded  all  the  religious  men  and 
women,  whom  he  had  taken  prisoners,  to  fix  them 
against  the  walls  of  the  castle.  This  he  had  before 
threatened  the  governor  to  do,  if  he  delivered  not 
the  castle:  but  his  answer  was,  "he  would  never  sur- 
render himself  alive."  Captain  Morgan  was  per- 
suaded the  governor  would  not  employ  his  utmost 
force,  on  seeing  the  religious  women  and  ecclesiasti- 
cal persons  exposed  in  the  front  of  the  soldiers  to 
the  greatest  danger.  Thus  the  ladders,  as  I  have 
said,  were  at  once  put  into  the  hands  of  religious 
persons  of  both  sexes,  and  these  were  forced,  at  the 
head  of  the  companies,  to  raise  and  apply  them  to 
the  walls.     But  Captain  Morgan  was  fully  deceived 


MORGAN  AT  PUERTO  BELLO      121 

in  his  judgment  of  this  design;  for  the  governor, 
who  acted  like  a  brave  soldier  in  performance  of  his 
duty,  used  his  utmost  endeavor  to  destroy  whomso- 
ever came  near  the  walls.  The  religious  men  and 
women  ceased  not  to  cry  to  him,  and  beg  of  him,  by 
all  the  saints  of  heaven,  to  deliver  the  castle,  and 
spare  both  his  and  their  own  lives;  but  nothing  could 
prevail  with  his  obstinacy  and  fierceness.  Thus  many 
of  the  religious  men  and  nuns  were  killed  before  they 
could  fix  the  ladders;  which  at  last  being  done, 
though  with  great  loss  of  their  number,  the  pirates 
mounted  them  in  great  numbers,  and  with  reckless 
valor,  having  fire-balls  in  their  hands,  and  earthen 
pots  full  of  powder;  which,  being  now  at  the  top  of 
the  walls,  they  kindled  and  cast  down  among  the 
Spaniards. 

This  effort  of  the  pirates  was  very  great,  inso- 
much that  the  Spaniards  could  not  longer  resist  nor 
defend  the  castle,  which  was  now  entered.  Here- 
upon they  all  threw  down  their  arms,  and  craved 
quarter  for  their  lives;  only  the  governor  of  the 
city  would  crave  no  mercy,  but  killed  many  of  the 
pirates  with  his  own  hands,  and  not  a  few  of  his 
own  soldiers;  because  they  did  not  stand  to  their 
arms.  And  though  the  pirates  asked  him  If  he 
would  have  quarter;  yet  he  constantly  answered, 
"By  no  means,  I  had  rather  die  as  a  valiant  soldier, 
than  be  hanged  as  a  coward."  They  endeavored  as 
much  as  they  could  to  take  him  prisoner,  but  he  de- 
fended himself  so  obstinately,  that  they  were  forced 


122  GREAT  PlRA'Ji<:  STORIES 

to  kill  him,  notwithstanding  all  the  cries  and  tears 
of  his  own  wife  and  daughter,  who  begged  him,  on 
their  knees,  to  demand  quarter,  and  save  his  life. 
When  the  pirates  had  possessed  themselves  of  the 
castle,  which  was  about  nightfall,  they  enclosed 
therein  all  the  prisoners,  placing  the  women  and  men 
by  themselves,  with  some  guards.  i  he  wounded 
were  put  in  an  apartment  by  themselves,  that  their 
own  complaints  might  be  the  cure  of  their  diseases; 
for  no  other  was  afforded  them. 

This  done,  they  fell  to  eating  and  drinking,  and  as 
usual,  to  committing  all  manner  of  debauchery  and 
excess,  so  that  fifty  courageous  men  might  easily 
have  retaken  the  city,  and  killed  all  the  pirates. 
Next  day,  having  plundered  all  they  could  find, 
they  examined  some  of  the  prisoners  (who  had  been 
persuaded  by  their  companions  to  say  they  were 
the  richest  of  the  town),  charging  them  severely 
to  discover  where  they  had  hid  their  riches  and 
goods.  Not  being  able  to  extort  anything  from 
them,  they  not  being  the  right  persons,  it  was  re- 
solved to  torture  them :  this  they  did  so  cruelly,  that 
many  of  them  died  on  the  rack,  or  presently  after. 
Now  the  president  of  Panama  being  advertised  of 
the  pillage  and  ruin  of  Puerto  Bello,  he  employed 
all  his  care  and  industry  to  raise  forces  to  pursue 
and  cast  out  the  pirates  thence;  but  these  cared 
little  for  his  preparations,  having  their  ships  at  hand, 
and  determining  to  fire  the  city,  and  retreat.  They 
had  now  been  at  Puerto  Bello  fifteen  days,  in  which 


MORGAN  AT  PUERTO  BELLO      123 

time  they  had  lost  many  of  their  men,  both  by  the 
unhealthiness  of  the  countr}',  and  their  extravagant 
debaucheries. 

Hereupon,  they  prepared  to  depart,  carrying  on 
board  all  the  pillage  they  had  got,  having  first  pro- 
vided the  fleet  with  sufficient  victuals  for  the  voy- 
age. \Yhile  these  things  were  doing  Captain  Mor- 
gan demanded  of  the  prisoners  a  ransom  for  the 
city,  or  else  he  would  burn  it  down,  and  blow  up  all 
the  castles;  withal,  he  commanded  them  to  send 
speedily  two  persons,  to  procure  the  sum,  which  was 
100,000  pieces-of-eight.  To  this  effect  two  men 
were  sent  to  the  president  of  Panama,  who  gave 
him  an  account  of  all.  The  president,  having  novr  a 
body  of  men  ready,  set  forth  towards  Puerto  Bello, 
to  encounter  the  pirates  before  their  retreat;  but, 
they,  hearing  of  his  coming,  instead  of  flying  away, 
vrent  out  to  meet  him  at  a  narrow  passage,  which 
he  must  pass :  here  they  placed  a  hundred  men,  ver}* 
well  armed,  which  at  the  first  encounter  put  to  flight 
a  good  party  of  those  of  Panama.  This  obliged 
the  president  to  retire  for  that  time,  not  being  yet  in 
a  posture  of  strength  to  proceed  farther.  Presently 
after,  he  sent  a  message  to  Captain  Morgan,  to  tell 
him,  "that  if  he  departed  not  suddenly  with  all  his 
forces  from  Puerto  Bello,  he  ought  to  expect  no 
quarter  for  himself,  nor  his  companions,  when  he 
should  take  them,  as  he  hoped  soon  to  do."  Cap- 
tain Morgan,  who  feared  not  his  threats,  knowing 
he  had  a  secure  retreat  in  his  ships,  which  were  at 


124  GREAT  inRATE  STORIES 

hand,  answered,  "he  would  not  deliver  the  castles, 
before  he  had  received  the  contribution-money  he 
had  demanded;  which  if  it  were  not  paid  down,  he 
would  certainly  burn  the  whole  city,  and  then  leave 
it,  demolishing  beforehand  the  castles,  and  killing 
the  prisoners." 

The  governor  of  Panama  perceived  by  this  an- 
swer that  no  means  would  serve  to  mollify  the 
hearts  of  the  pirates,  nor  reduce  them  to  reason: 
whereupon,  he  determined  to  leave  the  inhabitants 
of  the  city  to  make  the  best  agreement  they  could. 
In  a  few  days  more  the  miserable  citizens  gathered 
the  contributions  required,  and  brought  100,000 
pieces-of-eight  to  the  pirates  for  their  ransom.  The 
president  of  Panama  was  much  amazed  that  four 
huncTred  men  could  take  such  a  great  city,  with  so 
many  strong  castles,  especially  having  no  ordnance, 
wherewith  to  raise  batteries,  and,  knowing  the  citi- 
zens of  Puerto  Bello  had  always  great  repute  of 
being  good  soldiers  themselves,  who  never  wanted 
courage  in  their  own  defence.  His  astonishment 
was  so  great,  that  he  sent  to  Captain  Morgan, 
desiring  some  small  pattern  of  those  arms  where- 
with he  had  taken  with  such  vigor  so  great  a  city. 
Captain  Morgan  received  this  messenger  very 
kindly,  and  with  great  civility;  and  gave  him  a  pistol, 
and  a  few  small  bullets,  to  carry  back  to  the  presi- 
dent his  master;  telling  him,  withal,  "he  desired 
him  to  accept  that  slender  pattern  of  the  arms 
wherewith   he   had   taken   Puerto    Bello,    and   keep 


i 


MORGAN  AT  PUERTO  BELLO      125 

them  for  a  twelvemonth;  after  which  time  he 
promised  to  come  to  Panama,  and  fetch  them 
away."  *  The  governor  returned  the  present  very 
soon  to  Captain  Morgan,  giving  him  thanks  for  the 
favor  of  lending  him  such  weapons  as  he  needed  not; 
and,  withal,  sent  him  a  ring  of  gold,  with  this  mes- 
sage, "that  he  desired  him  not  to  give  himself  the 
labor  of  coming  to  Panama,  as  he  had  done  to 
Puerto  Bello:  for  he  did  assure  him,  he  should  not 
speed  so  well  here,  as  he  had  done  there." 

After  this.  Captain  Morgan  (having  provided  his 
fleet  with  all  necessaries,  and  taken  with  him  the  best 
guns  of  the  castles,  nailing  up  the  rest)  set  sail 
from  Puerto  Bello  with  all  his  ships,  and  arriving  in 
a  few  days  at  Cuba,  he  sought  out  a  place  wherein 
he  might  quickly  make  the  dividend  of  their  spoil. 
They  found  in  ready  money  250,000  pieces-of- 
eight,  besides  other  merchandise;  as  cloth,  linen, 
silks,  etc.  With  this  rich  purchase  they  sailed  thence 
to  their  common  place  of  rendezvous,  Jamaica. 
Being  arrived,  they  passed  here  some  time  in  all 
sorts  of  vices  and  debaucheries,  according  to  their 
custom;  spending  very  prodigally  what  others  had 
gained  with  no  small  labor  and  toil. 

*This  promise  was  kept.     See  The  Capture  of  Panama    (foot- 
note). 


THE  WAYS  OF  THE  BUCCANEERS  * 

John  Masefield  after  John  Esquemelino 

THROUGHOUT  the  years  of  buccaneering, 
the  buccaneers  often  put  to  sea  in  canoas  and 
periaguas,  just  as  Drake  put  to  sea  in  his 
three  pinnaces.  Life  in  an  open  boat  is  far  from 
pleasant,  but  men  who  passed  their  leisure  cutting 
logwood  at  Campeachy,  or  hoeing  tobacco  in  Ja- 
maica, or  toiling  over  gramma  grass  under  a  hot 
sun  after  cattle,  were  not  disposed  to  make  the  worst 
of  things.  They  would  sit  contentedly  upon  the 
oar  bench,  rowing  with  a  long,  slow  stroke  for  hours 
together  without  showing  signs  of  fatigue.  Nearly 
all  of  them  were  men  of  more  than  ordinary 
strength,  and  all  of  them  were  well  accustomed  to 
the  climate.  When  they  had  rowed  their  canoa  to 
the  Main  they  were  able  to  take  it  easy  till  a  ship 
came  by  from  one  of  the  Spanish  ports.  If  she 
seemed  a  reasonable  prey,  without  too  many  guns, 
and  not  too  high  charged,  or  high  built,  the  priva- 
teers would  load  their  muskets,  and  row  down  to 
engage  her.  The  best  shots  were  sent  into  the  bows, 
and  excused  from  rowing,  lest  the  exercise  should 
cause  their  hands  to  tremble.     A  clever  man  was 

*  From  Buccaneer  Customs  on  the  Spanish  Main. 

126 


THE  WAYS  OF  THE  BUCCANEERS  127 

put  to  the  steering  oar,  and  the  musketeers  were 
bidden  to  sing  out  whenever  the  enemy  yawed,  so 
as  to  fire  her  guns.  It  was  in  action,  and  in  action 
only,  that  the  captain  had  command  over  his  men. 
The  steersman  endeavored  to  keep  the  masts  of  the 
quarry  in  a  line,  and  to  approach  her  from  astern. 
The  marksmen  from  the  bows  kept  up  a  continual 
fire  at  the  vessel's  helmsmen,  if  they  could  be  seen, 
and  at  any  gun-ports  which  happened  to  be  open. 
If  the  helmsmen  could  not  be  seen  from  the  sea,  the 
canoas  aimed  to  row  in  upon  the  vessel's  quarters, 
where  they  could  wedge  up  the  rudder  with  wooden 
chocks  or  wedges.  They  then  laid  her  aboard  over 
the  quarter,  or  by  the  after  chains,  and  carried  her 
with  their  knives  and  pistols.  The  first  man  to  get 
aboard  received  some  gift  of  money  at  the  division 
of  the  spoil. 

When  the  prize  was  taken,  the  prisoners  were 
questioned,  and  despoiled.  Often,  indeed,  they 
were  stripped  stark  naked,  and  granted  the  privi- 
lege of  seeing  their  finery  on  a  pirate's  back.  Each 
buccaneer  had  the  right  to  take  a  shift  of  clothes 
out  of  each  prize  captured.  The  cargo  was  then 
rummaged,  and  the  state  of  the  ship  looked  to, 
with  an  eye  to  using  her  as  a  cruiser.  As  a  rule, 
the  prisoners  were  put  ashore  on  the  first  oppor- 
tunity, but  some  buccaneers  had  a  way  of  selling 
their  captives  into  slavery.  If  the  ship  were  old, 
leaky,  valueless,  in  ballast,  or  with  a  cargo  useless 
to  the  rovers,  she  was  either  robbed  of  her  guns, 


128  GREAT  PIRATE  STORIES 

and  turned  adrift  with  her  crew,  or  run  ashore  in 
some  snug  cove,  where  she  could  be  burnt  for  the 
sake  of  the  iron-work.  If  the  cargo  were  of  value, 
and,  as  a  rule,  the  ships  they  took  had  some  rich 
thing  aboard  them,  they  sailed  her  to  one  of  the 
Dutch,  French  or  I'-nglish  settlements,  where  they 
sold  her  freight  for  what  they  could  get — some 
tenth  or  twentieth  of  its  value.  If  the  ship  were  a 
good  one,  in  good  condition,  well  found,  swift,  and 
not  of  too  great  draught  (for  they  preferred  to 
sail  in  small  ships),  they  took  her  for  their  cruiser 
as  soon  as  they  had  emptied  out  her  freight.  They 
sponged  and  loaded  her  guns,  brought  their  stores 
aboard  her,  laid  their  mats  upon  her  deck,  secured 
the  boats  astern,  and  sailed  away  in  search  of  other 
plunder.  They  kept  little  discipline  aboard  their 
ships.  What  work  had  to  be  done  they  did,  but 
works  of  supererogation  they  despised  and  rejected 
as  a  shade  unholy.  The  night  watches  were  partly 
orgies.  While  some  slept,  the  others  fired  guns  and 
drank  to  the  health  of  their  fellows.  By  the  light  of 
the  binnacle,  or  by  the  light  of  the  slush  lamps  in  the 
cabin,  the  rovers  played  a  hand  at  cards,  or  diced 
each  other  at  "seven  and  eleven,"  using  a  pannikin 
as  dice-box.  While  the  gamblers  cut  and  shuffled, 
and  the  dice  rattled  in  the  tin,  the  musical  sang  songs, 
the  fiddlers  set  their  music  chuckling,  and  the  sea- 
boots  stamped  approval.  The  cunning  dancers 
showed  their  science  in  the  moonlight,  avoiding  the 
sleepers  if  they  could.     In  this  jolly  fashion  were  the 


THE  WAYS  OF  THE  BUCCANEERS  129 

nights  made  short.  In  the  daytime,  the  gambling 
continued  with  httle  intermission;  nor  had  the  cap- 
tain any  authority  to  stop  it.  One  captain,  in  the 
histories,  was  so  bold  as  to  throw  the  dice  and  cards 
overboard,  but,  as  a  rule,  the  captain  of  a  buc- 
caneer cruiser  was  chosen  as  an  artist,  or  navigator, 
or  as  a  lucky  fighter.  He  was  not  expected  to  spoil 
sport.  The  continual  gambling  nearly  always  led 
to  fights  and  quarrels.  The  lucky  dicers  often  won 
so  much  that  the  unlucky  had  to  part  with  all  their 
booty.  Sometimes  a  few  men  would  win  all  the 
plunder  of  the  cruise,  much  to  the  disgust  of  the 
majority,  who  clamored  for  a  redivision  of  the  spoil. 
If  two  buccaneers  got  into  a  quarrel  they  fought  it 
out  on  shore  at  the  first  opportunity,  using  knives, 
swords,  or  pistols,  according  to  taste.  The  usual 
way  of  fighting  was  with  pistols,  the  combatants 
standing  back  to  back,  at  a  distance  of  ten  or  twelve 
paces,  and  turning  round  to  fire  at  the  word  of  com- 
mand. If  both  shots  missed,  the  question  was  de- 
cided with  cutlasses,  the  man  who  drew  first  blood 
being  declared  the  winner.  If  a  man  were  proved 
to  be  a  coward  he  was  either  tied  to  the  mast,  and 
shot,  or  mutilated,  and  sent  ashore.  No  cruise  came 
to  an  end  until  the  company  declared  themselves 
satisfied  with  the  amount  of  plunder  taken.  The 
question,  like  all  other  important  questions,  was 
debated  round  the  mast,  and  decided  by  vote. 

At  the  conclusion  of  a  successful  cruise,  they  sailed 
for  Port  Royal,  with  the  ship  full  of  treasure,  such 


130  GRI'AT  IMRATK  STORIES 

as  vicuna  wool,  packets  of  pearls  from  the  Hatch, 
jars  of  civet  or  of  amhcrf^ris,  boxes  of  "marma- 
Ictt"  and  spices,  casks  of  strong  drink,  bales  of  silk, 
sacks  of  cliocolate  and  vanilla,  and  rolls  of  green 
cloth  and  pale  blue  cotton  which  the  Indians  had 
woven  In  Peru,  in  some  sandy  village  near  the  sea, 
in  sight  of  the  pelicans  and  the  penguins.  In  ad- 
dition to  all  tlicsc  things,  they  usually  had  a  number 
of  the  personal  possessions  of  those  they  had  taken 
on  the  seas.  Lying  in  the  chests  for  subsequent  di- 
vision were  swords,  silver-mounted  pistols,  daggers 
chased  and  inlaid,  watches  from  Spain,  necklaces  of 
uncut  jewels,  rings  and  bangles,  heavy  carved  fur- 
niture, "cases  of  bottles"  of  delicately  cut  green 
glass,  containing  cordials  distilled  of  precious  mints, 
with  packets  of  emeralds  from  Brazil,  bezoar  stones 
from  Patagonia,  paintings  from  Spain,  and  medicinal 
gums  from  Nicaragua.  All  these  things  were  di- 
vided by  lot  at  the  main-mast  as  soon  as  the  anchor 
held.  As  the  ship,  or  ships,  neared  port,  her  men 
hung  colors  out — any  colors  they  could  find — to 
make  their  vessel  gay.  A  cup  of  drink  was  taken  as 
they  sailed  slowly  home  to  moorings,  and  as  they 
drank  they  fired  off  the  cannon,  "bullets  and  all," 
again  and  yet  again,  rejoicing  as  the  bullets  struck 
the  water.  Up  in  the  bay,  the  ships  in  the  harbor  an- 
swered with  salutes  of  cannon;  flags  were  dipped 
and  hoisted  in  salute;  and  so  the  anchor  dropped  in 
some  safe  reach,  and  the  division  of  the  spoil  began. 
After  the  division  of  the  spoil  in  the  beautiful 


THE  WAYS  OF  THE  BUCCANEERS  131 

Port  Royal  harbor,  in  sight  of  the  palm-trees  and 
the  fort  with  the  colors  flying,  the  buccaneers  packed 
their  gear,  and  dropped  over  the  side  into  a  boat. 
They  were  pulled  ashore  by  some  grinning  black 
man  with  a  scarlet  scarf  about  his  head  and  the  brand 
of  a  hot  iron  on  his  shoulders.  At  the  jetty  end, 
where  the  Indians  lounged  at  their  tobacco  and  the 
fishermen's  canoas  rocked,  the  sunburnt  pirates  put 
ashore.  Among  the  noisy  company  which  always 
gathers  on  a  pier  they  rnet  with  their  companions. 
A  sort  of  Roman  triumph  followed,  as  the  "hap- 
pily returned'  lounged  swaggeringly  towards  the 
taverns.  Eager  hands  helped  them  to  carry  in  their 
plunder.  In  a  few  minutes  the  gang  was  entering 
the  tavern,  the  long,  cool  room  with  barrels  round 
the  walls,  where  there  were  benches  and  a  table  and 
an  old  blind  fiddler  jerking  his  elbow  at  a  jig. 
Noisily  the  party  ranged  about  the  table,  and  sat 
themselves  upon  the  benches,  while  the  drawers,  or 
potboys,  in  their  shirts,  drew  near  to  take  the  or- 
ders. I  wonder  if  the  reader  has  ever  heard  a  sailor 
in  the  like  circumstance,  five  minutes  after  he  has 
touched  his  pay,  address  a  company  of  parasites  in 
an  inn  with  the  question:    "What's  it  going  to  be?" 


A  TRUE  ACCOUNT  OF  THREE 
NOTORIOUS  PIRATES* 

Howard  Pyle,  Ed. 

I 

Captain  Teach  alias  Black-beard 

EDWARD  TEACH  was  a  Bristol  man  bom, 
but  had  sailed  some  time  out  of  Jamaica,  in 
privateers,  in  the  late  French  war;  yet 
though  he  had  often  distinguished  himself  for  his 
uncommon  boldness  and  personal  courage,  he  was 
never  raised  to  any  command,  till  he  went  a-pirat- 
ing,  which,  I  think,  was  at  the  latter  end  of  the  year 
17 1 6,  when  Captain  Benjamin  Hornygold  put  him 
into  a  sloop  that  he  had  made  prize  of,  and  with 
whom  he  continued  in  consortship  till  a  little  while 
before  Hornygold  surrendered. 

In  the  spring  of  the  year  17 17  Teach  and  Horny- 
gold sailed  from  Providence,  for  the  main  of  Amer- 
ica, and  took  in  their  way  a  billop  from  the  Havana, 
with  120  barrels  of  flour,  as  also  a  sloop  from  Ber- 
muda, Thurbar  master,  from  whom  they  took  only 
some  gallons  of  wine,  and  then  let  him  go;  and  a 
ship  from  Madeira  to  South  Carolina,  out  of  which 
they  got  plunder  to  a  considerable  value. 

*A  contemporary  narrative.  From  The  Buccaneers  of  America. 

132 


THREE  NOTORIOUS  PIRATES      133 

After  cleaning  on  the  coast  of  Virginia,  they  re- 
turned to  the  West  Indies,  and  in  the  latitude  of  24, 
made  prize  of  a  large  French  Guineaman,  bound 
to  Martinico,  which,  by  Hornygold's  consent.  Teach 
went  aboard  of  as  captain,  and  took  a  cruise  in  her. 
Hornygold  returned  with  his  sloop  to  Providence, 
where,  at  the  arrival  of  Captain  Rogers,  the  gover- 
nor, he  surrendered  to  mercy,  pursuant  to  the  king's 
proclamation. 

Aboard  of  this  Guineaman  Teach  mounted  forty 
guns,  and  named  her  the  Queen  Ann's  Revenge;  and 
cruising  near  the  Island  of  St.  Vincent,  took  a  large 
ship,  called  the  Great  Allen,  Christopher  Taylor, 
commander;  the  pirates  plundered  her  of  what  they 
thought  fit,  put  all  the  men  ashore  upon  the  island 
above  mentioned,  and  set  fire  to  the  ship. 

A  few  days  after  Teach  fell  In  with  the  Scarbor- 
ough, man-of-war,  of  thirty  guns,  who  engaged  him 
for  some  hours;  but  she,  finding  the  pirate  well- 
manned,  and  having  tried  her  strength,  gave  over 
the  engagement  and  returned  to  Barbadoes,  the 
place  of  her  station,  and  Teach  sailed  towards  the 
Spanish  America. 

In  this  way  he  met  with  a  pirate  sloop  of  ten  guns, 
commanded  by  one  Major  Bonnet,  lately  a  gentle- 
man of  good  reputation  and  estate  In  the  Island  of 
Barbadoes,  whom  he  joined;  but  In  a  few  days  after, 
Teach,  finding  that  Bonnet  knew  nothing  of  a  mari- 
time life,  with  the  consent  of  his  own  men,  put  in 
another  captain,  one  Richards,  to  command  Bon- 


134  GRI-:AT  pirate  STORIl'S 

net's  sloop,  and  took  the  Major  on  board  his  own 
ship,  telling  him,  that  as  he  had  not  been  used  to  the 
fatigues  and  care  of  such  a  post,  it  would  be  better 
for  him  to  decline  it  and  live  easy,  at  his  pleasure, 
in  such  a  ship  as  his,  wiiere  he  would  not  be  obliged 
to  perform  the  necessary  duties  of  a  sea-voyage. 

At  Turniff,  ten  leagues  short  of  the  Bay  of  Hon- 
duras, the  pirates  took  in  fresh  water,  and  while 
they  were  at  anchor  there,  they  saw  a  sloop  coming 
in,  whereupon  Richards,  in  the  sloop  called  the  Re- 
venge, slipped  his  cable  and  run  out  to  meet  her; 
who,  upon  seeing  the  black  flag  hoisted,  struck  his 
sail  and  came  to  under  the  stern  of  Teach,  the  com- 
modore. She  was  called  the  Adventure,  from  Ja- 
maica, David  Harriot,  master.  They  took  him  and 
his  men  aboard  the  great  ship,  and  sent  a  number 
of  other  hands  with  Israel  Hands,  master  of  Teach's 
ship,  to  man  the  sloop  for  the  piratical  account. 

The  9th  of  April  they  weighed  from  Turniff, 
having  lain  there  about  a  week,  and  sailed  to  the  bay, 
where  they  found  a  ship  and  four  sloops;  three  of 
the  latter  belonged  to  Jonathan  Bernard,  of  Ja- 
maica, and  the  other  to  Captain  James.  The  ship 
was  of  Boston,  called  the  Protestant  Caesar,  Captain 
Wyar,  commander.  Teach  hoisted  his  black  colors 
and  fired  a  gun,  upon  which  Captain  Wyar  and  all 
his  men  left  their  ship  and  got  ashore  in  their  boat. 
Teach's  quartermaster  and  eight  of  his  crew  took 
possession  of  Wyar's  ship,  and  Richards  secured  all 
the  sloops,  one  of  which  they  burnt  out  of  spite  to 


THREE  NOTORIOUS  PIRATES       135 

the  owner.  The  Protestant  Casar  they  also  burnt, 
after  they  had  plundered  her,  because  she  belonged 
to  Boston,  where  some  men  had  been  hanged  for 
piracy,  and  the  three  sloops  belonging  to  Bernard 
they  let  go. 

From  hence  the  rovers  sailed  to  Turkill,  and 
then  to  the  Grand  Caimanes,  a  small  island  about 
thirty  leagues  to  the  westward  of  Jamaica,  where 
they  took  a  small  turtler,  and  so  to  the  Havana,  and 
from  thence  to  the  Bahama  Wrecks;  and  from  the 
Bahama  Wrecks  they  sailed  to  Carolina,  taking  a 
brigantine  and  two  sloops  in  their  way,  where  they 
lay  off  the  bar  of  Charles  Town  for  five  or  six  days. 
They  took  here  a  ship  as  she  was  coming  out,  bound 
for  London,  commanded  by  Robert  Clark,  with 
some  passengers  on  board  for  England.  The  next 
day  they  took  another  vessel  coming  out  of  Charles 
Town,  and  also  two  pinks  coming  into  Charles 
Town;  likewise  a  brigantine  with  fourteen  negroes 
aboard;  all  of  which,  being  done  in  the  face  of  the 
town,  struck  so  great  a  terror  to  the  whole  province 
of  Carolina,  having  just  before  been  visited  by  Vane, 
another  notorious  pirate,  that  they  abandoned  them- 
selves to  despair,  being  in  no  condition  to  resist  their 
force.  There  were  eight  sail  in  the  harbor,  ready 
for  the  sea,  but  none  dared  to  venture  out,  it  being 
almost  impossible  to  escape  their  hands.  The  in- 
ward bound  vessels  were  under  the  same  unhappy 
dilemma,  so  that  the  trade  of  this  place  was  totally 
interrupted.    What  made  these  misfortunes  heavier 


136  GREAT  PIRATE  STORIES 

to  them  was  a  long,  expensive  war  the  colony  had 
had  with  the  natives,  which  was  but  just  ended  when 
these  robbers  infested  them. 

Teach  detained  all  the  ships  and  prisoners,  and, 
being  in  want  of  medicines,  resolved  to  demand  a 
chest  from  the  government  of  the  province.  Ac- 
cordingly, Richards,  the  captain  of  the  Rczenge 
sloop,  with  two  or  three  more  pirates,  were  sent 
up  along  with  Mr.  Marks,  one  of  the  prisoners 
whom  they  had  taken  in  Clark's  ship,  and  very  in- 
solently made  their  demands,  threatening  that  if 
they  did  not  send  immediately  the  chest  of  medicines 
and  let  the  pirate  ambassadors  return,  without  of- 
fering any  violence  to  their  persons,  they  would 
murder  all  their  prisoners,  send  up  their  heads  to 
the  governor,  and  set  the  ships  they  had  taken  on 
fire. 

Whilst  Mr.  Marks  was  making  application  to  the 
council,  Richards  and  the  rest  of  the  pirates  walked 
the  streets  publicly  in  the  sight  of  all  people,  who 
were  fired  with  the  utmost  indignation,  looking  upon 
them  as  robbers  and  murderers,  and  particularly  the 
authors  of  their  wrongs  and  oppressions,  but  durst 
not  so  much  as  think  of  executing  their  revenge  for 
fear  of  bringing  more  calamities  upon  themselves, 
and  so  they  were  forced  to  let  the  villains  pass  with 
impunity.  The  government  was  not  long  in  deliber- 
ating upon  the  message,  though  it  was  the  greatest 
affront  that  could  have  been  put  upon  them,  yet, 
for  the  saving  so  many  men's  lives   (among  them 


THREE  NOTORIOUS  PIRATES      137 

Mr.  Samuel  Wragg,  one  of  the  council),  they  com- 
plied with  the  necessity  and  sent  aboard  a  chest, 
valued  at  between  three  and  four  hundred  pounds, 
and  the  pirates  went  back  safe  to  their  ships. 

Black-beard  (for  so  Teach  was  generally  called, 
as  we  shall  hereafter  show),  as  soon  as  he  had  re- 
<:eived  the  medicines  and  his  brother  rogues,  let  go 
the  ships  and  the  prisoners,  having  first  taken  out 
of  them  in  gold  and  silver  about  £1,500  sterling, 
besides  provisions  and  other  matters. 

From  the  bar  of  Charles  Town  they  sailed  to 
North  Carolina,  Captain  Teach  in  the  ship,  which 
they  called  the  man-of-war.  Captain  Richards  and 
Captain  Hands  in  the  sloops,  which  they  termed  pri- 
vateers, and  another  sloop  serving  them  as  a  tender. 
Teach  began  now  to  think  of  breaking  up  the  com- 
pany and  securing  the  money  and  the  best  of  the 
effects  for  himself  and  some  others  of  his  com- 
panions he  had  most  friendship  for,  and  to  cheat 
the  rest.  Accordingly,  on  pretense  of  running  into 
Topsail  inlet  to  clean,  he  grounded  his  ship,  and 
then,  as  if  it  had  been  done  undesignedly  and  by 
accident,  he  orders  Hands'  sloop  to  come  to  his  as- 
sistance and  get  him  off  again,  which  he,  endeavor- 
ing to  do,  ran  the  sloop  on  shore  near  the  other,  and 
so  were  both  lost.  This  done.  Teach  goes  into  the 
tender  sloop,  with  forty  hands,  and  leaves  the  Re- 
venge there,  then  takes  seventeen  others  and  ma- 
roons them  upon  a  small  sandy  island,  about  a  league 
from  the  main,  where  there  was  neither  bird,  beast, 


138  GREAT  PIRATE  STORIES 

or  herb  for  their  subsistence,  and  where  they  must 
have  perished  if  Major  Bonnet  had  not,  two  days 
after,  taken  them  off. 

Teach  goes  up  to  the  governor  of  North  Caro- 
lina, with  about  twenty  of  his  men,  and  they  sur- 
render to  his  Majesty's  proclamation,  and  receive 
certificates  thereof  from  his  Excellency;  but  it  did 
not  appear  that  their  submitting  to  this  pardon  was 
from  any  reformation  of  manners,  but  only  to  await 
a  more  favorable  opportunity  to  play  the  same  game 
over  again;  which  he  soon  after  effected,  with 
greater  security  to  himself,  and  with  much  better 
prospect  of  success,  having  in  this  time  cultivated 
a  very  good  understanding  with  Charles  Eden, 
Esq.,  the  governor  above  mentioned. 

The  first  piece  of  service  this  kind  governor  did 
to  Black-beard  was  to  give  him  a  right  to  the  vessel 
which  he  had  taken  when  he  was  a-pirating  in  the 
great  ship  called  the  Queen  Ann's  Revenge,  for 
which  purpose  a  court  of  vice-admiralty  was  held  at 
Bath  Town,  and,  though  Teach  had  never  any  com- 
mission in  his  life,  and  the  sloop  belonging  to  the 
English  merchants,  and  taken  in  time  of  peace,  yet 
was  she  condemned  as  a  prize  taken  from  the  Span- 
iards by  the  said  Teach.  These  proceedings  show 
that  governors  are  but  men. 

Before  he  sailed  upon  his  adventures,  he  married 
a  young  creature  of  about  sixteen  years  of  age,  the 
governor  performing  the  ceremony.  As  it  is  a  cus- 
tom to  marry  here  by  a  priest,  so  it  is  there  by  a 


THREE  NOTORIOUS  PIRATES      139 

magistrate;  and  this,  I  have  been  informed,  made 
Teach's  fourteenth  wife  whereof  about  a  dozen 
might  be  still  living. 

In  June,  17 18,  he  went  to  sea  upon  another  ex- 
pedition, and  steered  his  course  towards  Bermudas. 
He  met  with  two  or  three  English  vessels  in  his 
way,  but  robbed  them  only  of  provisions,  stores,  and 
other  necessaries,  for  his  present  expense;  but  near 
the  island  before  mentioned,  he  fell  in  with  two 
French  ships,  one  of  them  was  laden  with  sugar  and 
cocoa,  and  the  other  light,  both  bound  to  Martinico. 
The  ship  that  had  no  lading  he  let  go,  and  putting 
all  the  men  of  the  loaded  ship  aboard  her,  he 
brought  home  the  other  with  her  cargo  to  North 
Carolina,  where  the  governor  and  the  pirates  shared 
the  plunder. 

When  Teach  and  his  prize  arrived  he  and  four  of 
his  crew  went  to  his  Excellency  and  made  affidavit 
that  they  found  the  French  ship  at  sea  without  a 
soul  on  board  her;  and  then  a  court  was  called,  and 
the  ship  condemned.  The  governor  had  sixty  hogs- 
heads of  sugar  for  his  dividend,  and  one  Mr. 
Knight,  who  was  his  secretary  and  collector  for  the 
province,  twenty,  and  the  rest  was  shared  among 
the  other  pirates. 

The  business  was  not  yet  done;  the  ship  remained, 
and  it  was  possible  one  or  other  might  come  into 
the  river  that  might  be  acquainted  with  her,  and  so 
discover  the  roguery.  But  Teach  thought  of  a  con- 
trivance to  prevent  this,  for,  upon  a  pretence  that  she 


140  GRI<:AT  PlRATi:  STORIES 

was  leaky,  and  that  she  might  sink,  and  so  stop  up 
the  mouth  of  the  inlet  or  cove  where  she  lay,  he 
obtained  an  order  from  the  governor  to  bring  her 
out  into  the  river  and  set  her  on  fire,  which  was 
accordingly  executed,  and  she  was  burnt  down  to  the 
water's  edge,  her  i)ottom  sunk,  and  with  it  their 
fears  of  her  ever  rising  in  judgment  against  them. 

Captain  feach,  alias  Black-beard,  passed  three  or 
four  months  in  the  river,  sometimes  lying  at  anchor 
in  the  coves,  at  other  times  sailing  from  one  inlet 
to  another,  trading  with  such  sloops  as  he  met  for 
the  plunder  he  had  taken,  and  would  often  give  them 
presents  for  stores  and  provisions  he  took  from 
them;  that  is,  when  he  happened  to  be  in  a  giving 
humor;  at  other  times  he  made  bold  with  them,  and 
took  what  he  liked,  without  saying  "By  your  leave," 
knowing  well  they  dared  not  send  him  a  bill  for  the 
payment.  He  often  diverted  himself  with  going 
ashore  among  the  planters,  where  he  revelled 
night  and  day.  By  these  he  was  well  received,  but 
whether  out  of  love  or  fear  I  cannot  say.  Some- 
times he  used  them  courteously  enough,  and  made 
them  presents  of  rum  and  sugar  in  recompense  of 
what  he  took  from  them;  but,  as  for  liberties,  which 
it  is  said  he  and  his  companions  often  took  with  the 
wives  and  daughters  of  the  planters,  I  cannot  take 
upon  me  to  say  whether  he  paid  them  ad  valorem 
or  no.  At  other  times  he  carried  it  In  a  lordly  man- 
ner towards  them,  and  would  lay  some  of  them  un- 
der contribution;  nay,  he  often  proceeded  to  bully 


k 


TEfREE  NOTORIOUS  PIRATES      141 

the  governor,  not  that  I  can  discover  the  least  cause 
of  quarrel  between  them,  but  it  seemed  only  to  be 
done  to  show  he  dared  do  it. 

The  sloops  trading  up  and  down  this  river  being 
so  frequently  pillaged  by  Black-beard,  consulted  with 
the  traders  and  some  of  the  best  planters  what 
course  to  take.  They  saw  plainly  it  would  be  in 
vain  to  make  an  application  to  the  governor  of 
North  Carolina,  to  whom  it  properly  belonged  to 
find  some  redress;  so  that  if  they  could  not  be  re- 
lieved from  some  other  quarter.  Black-beard  would 
be  like  to  reign  with  impunity;  therefore,  with  as 
much  secrecy  as  possible,  they  sent  a  deputation  to 
Virginia,  to  lay  the  affair  before  the  governor  of 
that  colony,  and  to  solicit  an  armed  force  from  the 
men-of-war  lying  there  to  take  or  destroy  this  pirate. 

This  governor  consulted  with  the  captains  of  the 
two  men-of-war,  viz.,  the  Pearl  and  Lime,  who  had 
lain  in  St.  James's  river  about  ten  months.  It  was 
agreed  that  the  governor  should  hire  a  couple  of 
small  sloops,  and  the  men-of-war  should  man  them. 
This  was  accordingly  done,  and  the  command  of 
them  given  to  Mr.  Robert  Maynard,  first  lieutenant 
of  the  Pearl,  an  experienced  officer,  and  a  gentleman 
of  great  bravery  and  resolution,  as  will  appear  by 
his  gallant  behavior  in  this  expedition.  The  sloops 
were  well  manned,  and  furnished  with  ammuition 
and  small  arms,  but  had  no  guns  mounted. 

About  the  time  of  their  going  out  the  governor 
called  an  assembly,  in  which  it  was  resolved  to  put- 


142  GRr:AT  PIRATE  STORIES 

lish  a  proclamation,  offering  certain  rewards  to  any 
person  or  persons  who,  within  a  year  after  that  time, 
should  take  or  destroy  any  pirate.  The  original 
proclamation,  being  in  our  hands,  is  as  follows: — 

By  his  Majesty's  Lieutcnant-novcrnor  and  Commander-in- 
Chief  of  the  Colony  and  Dominion  of  Virginia. 

A  PROCLAMATION, 

Publishing  the  Rewards  given   for  apprehending  or  killing 

Pirates. 

Whereas,  by  an  Act  of  Assembly,  made  at  a  Session  of 
Assembly,  begun  at  the  capital  in  Williamsburg,  tiie  eleventh 
day  of  November,  in  the  fifth  year  of  his  Majesty's  reign, 
entitled.  An  Act  to  Encourage  the  Apprehending  and  De- 
stroying of  Pirates:  It  is,  amongst  other  things,  enacted, 
that  all  and  every  person,  or  persons,  who,  from  and  after 
the  fourteenth  day  of  November,  in  the  Year  of  our  Lord 
one  thousand  seven  hundred  and  eighteen,  and  before  the 
fourteenth  day  of  November,  which  shall  be  in  tlie  Year  of 
our  Lord  one  thousand  seven  hundred  and  nineteen,  shall 
take  any  pirate,  or  pirates,  on  the  sea  or  land,  or,  in  case  of 
resistance,  shall  kill  any  such  pirate,  or  pirates,  between  the 
degrees  of  thirty-four  and  thirty-nine  of  northern  latitude, 
and  within  one  hundred  leagues  of  the  continent  of  Virginia, 
or  within  the  provinces  of  Virginia,  or  North  Carolina,  upon 
the  conviction,  or  making  due  proof  of  the  killing  of  all  and 
every  such  pirate,  and  pirates,  before  the  Governor  and  Coun- 
cil, shall  be  entitled  to  have,  and  receive  out  of  the  public 
money,  in  the  hands  of  the  Treasurer  of  this  Colony,  the 
s'veral  rewards  following:  that  is  to  say,  for  Edward  Teach, 
commonly  called  Captain  Teach,  or  Black-beard,  one  hun- 


THREE  NOTORIOUS  PIRATES      143 

dred  pounds;  for  every  other  commander  of  a  pirate  ship, 
sloop,  or  vessel,  forty  pounds;  for  every  lieutenant,  master, 
or  quartermaster,  boatswain,  or  carpenter,  twenty  pounds; 
for  every  other  inferior  officer,  fifteen  pounds;  and  for  every 
private  man  taken  on  board  such  ship,  sloop,  or  vessel,  ten 
pounds;  and  that  for  every  pirate  which  shall  be  taken  by 
any  ship,  sloop,  or  vessel,  belonging  to  this  colony,  or  North 
Carolina,  within  the  time  aforesaid,  in  any  place  whatsoever, 
the  like  rewards  shall  be  paid  according  to  the  quality  and 
condition  of  such  pirates.  Wherefore,  for  the  encourage- 
ment of  all  such  persons  as  shall  be  willing  to  serve  his 
Majesty,  and  their  country,  in  so  just  and  honourable  an 
undertaking  as  the  suppressing  a  sort  of  people  who  may 
be  truly  called  enemies  to  mankind :  I  have  thought  fit, 
with  the  advice  and  consent  of  his  Majesty's  Council,  to 
issue  this  Proclamation,  hereby  declaring  the  said  rewards 
shall  be  punctually  and  justly  paid,  in  current  money  of 
Virginia,  according  to  the  directions  of  the  said  Act.  And 
I  do  order  and  appoint  this  proclamation  to  be  published 
by  the  sheriffs  at  their  respective  country  houses,  and  by 
all  ministers  and  readers  in  the  several  churches  and  chapels 
throughout  this  colony. 

Given  at  our  Council-Chamber  at  Williamsburgh,  this 
24th  day  of  November,  171 8,  in  the  fifth  year  of 
his  Majesty's  reign. 

GOD  SAVE  THE  KING. 

A.  Spotswood. 

The  17th  of  November,  171 8,  the  lieutenant 
sailed  from  Kicquetan,  in  James  river  in  Virginia, 
and  the  31st,  in  the  evening,  came  to  the  mouth  of 
Okerecock  inlet,  where  he  got  sight  of  the  pirate. 


144  GREAT  PIRATE  STORIES 

This  expedition  was  made  with  all  imaginable  se- 
crecy, and  tlie  officer  managed  with  all  the  prudence 
that  was  necessary,  stopping  all  boats  and  vessels  he 
met  with  in  the  river  from  going  up,  and  thereby 
preventing  any  intelligence  from  reaching  Black- 
beard,  and  receiving  at  the  same  time  an  account 
from  them  all  of  the  place  where  the  pirate  was 
lurking.  But  notwithstanding  this  caution,  Black- 
beard  had  information  of  the  design  from  his  Ex- 
cellency of  the  province;  and  his  secretary,  Mr. 
Knight,  wrote  him  a  letter  particularly  concerning 
it,  intimating  "that  he  had  sent  him  four  of  his  men, 
which  were  all  he  could  meet  with  in  or  about  town, 
and  so  bid  him  be  upon  his  guard."  These  men  be- 
longed to  Black-beard,  and  were  sent  from  Bath 
Town  to  Okerecock  inlet,  where  the  sloop  lay,  which 
is  about  twenty  leagues. 

Black-beard  had  heard  several  reports,  which 
happened  not  to  be  true,  and  so  gave  the  less  credit 
to  this  advice;  nor  was  he  convinced  till  he  saw  the 
sloops.  Then  it  was  time  to  put  his  vessel  in  a 
posture  of  defense.  He  had  no  more  than  twenty- 
five  men  on  board,  though  he  gave  out  to  all  the 
vessels  he  spoke  with  that  he  had  forty.  When  he 
had  prepared  for  battle  he  sat  down  and  spent  the 
night  in  drinking  with  the  master  of  a  trading  sloop, 
who,  it  was  thought,  had  more  business  with  Teach 
than  he  should  have  had. 

Lieutenant  Maynard  came  to  an  anchor,  for  the 
place  being  shoal,  and  the  channel  intricate,  there 


THREE  NOTORIOUS  PIRATES      145 

was  no  getting  In  where  Teach  lay  that  night;  but 
in  the  morning  he  weighed,  and  sent  his  boat  ahead 
of  the  sloops  to  sound,  and  coming  within  gun-shot 
of  the  pirate,  received  his  fire;  whereupon  Maynard 
hoisted  the  king's  colors,  and  stood  directly  towards 
him  with  the  best  way  that  his  sails  and  oars  could 
make.  Black-beard  cut  his  cable,  and  endeavored  to 
make  a  running  fight,  keeping  a  continual  fire  at  his 
enemies  with  his  guns.  Mr.  Maynard,  not  having 
any,  kept  a  constant  fire  with  small  arms,  while 
some  of  his  men  labored  at  their  oars.  In  a  little 
time  Teach's  sloop  ran  aground,  and  Mr.  May- 
nard's,  drawing  more  water  than  that  of  the  pirate, 
he  could  not  come  near  him;  so  he  anchored  within 
half  gun-shot  of  the  enemy,  and,  in  order  to  lighten 
his  vessel,  that  he  might  run  him  aboard,  the  lieu- 
tenant ordered  all  his  ballast  to  be  thrown  overboard, 
and  all  the  water  to  be  staved,  and  then  weighed 
and  stood  for  him;  upon  which  Black-beard  hailed 
him  in  this  rude  maner:  "Damn  you  for  villains, 
who  are  you;  and  from  whence  came  you?"  The 
lieutenant  made  him  answer,  "You  may  see  by  our 
colors  we  are  no  pirates."  Black-beard  bid  him 
send  his  boat  on  board  that  he  might  see  who  he 
was;  but  Mr.  Maynard  replied  thus:  "I  cannot 
spare  my  boat,  but  I  will  come  aboard  of  you  as  soon 
as  I  can  with  my  sloop."  Upon  this  Black-beard 
took  a  glass  of  liquor,  and  drank  to  him  with  these 
words:  "Damnation  seize  my  soul  if  I  give  you 
quarter,  or  take  any  from  you."    In  answer  to  which 


146  GRI'.AT  PIRATI-   STORIES 

Mr.  Maynard  told  him  "that  he  expected  no  quar- 
ter from  him,  nor  should  he  give  him  any." 

By  this  time  Black-beard's  sloop  fleeted  as  Mr. 
Maynard's  sloops  were  rowing  towards  him,  which 
being  not  above  a  foot  high  in  the  waist,  and  conse- 
quently the  men  all  exposed,  as  they  came  near  to- 
gether (there  being  hitherto  little  or  no  execution 
done  on  either  side),  the  pirate  fired  a  broadside 
charged  with  all  manner  of  small  shot.  A  fatal 
stroke  to  them! — the  sloop  the  lieutenant  was  in 
having  twenty  men  killed  and  wounded,  and  the 
other  sloop  nine.  This  could  not  be  helped,  for 
there  being  no  wind,  they  were  obliged  to  keep  to 
their  oars,  otherwise  the  pirate  would  have  got  away 
from  him,  which  it  seems,  the  lieutenant  was  reso- 
lute to  prevent. 

After  this  unlucky  blow  Black-beard's  sloop  fell 
broadside  to  the  shore;  Mr.  Maynard's  other  sloop, 
which  was  called  the  Ranger,  fell  astern,  being  for 
the  present  disabled.  So  the  lieutenant,  finding  his 
own  sloop  had  way  and  would  soon  be  on  board 
of  Teach,  he  ordered  all  his  men  down,  for  fear  of 
another  broadside,  which  must  have  been  their  de- 
struction and  the  loss  of  their  expedition.  Mr. 
Maynard  was  the  only  person  that  kept  the  deck, 
except  the  man  at  the  helm,  whom  he  directed  to 
lie  down  snug,  and  the  men  in  the  hold  were  ordered 
to  get  their  pistols  and  their  swords  ready  for  close 
fighting,  and  to  come  up  at  his  command;  in  order 
to  which  two  ladders  were  placed  in  the  hatchway 


THREE  NOTORIOUS  PIRATES      147 

for  the  more  expedition.  When  the  Heutenant's 
sloop  boarded  the  other  Captain  Teach's  men  threw 
in  several  new-fashioned  sort  of  grenades,  viz.,  case- 
bottles  filled  with  powder  and  small  shot,  slugs,  and 
pieces  of  lead  or  iron,  with  a  quick-match  in  the 
mouth  of  it,  which,  being  lighted  without  side,  pres- 
ently runs  into  the  bottle  to  the  powder,  and,  as  it 
is  instantly  thrown  on  board,  generally  does  great 
execution  besides  putting  all  the  crew  into  a  con- 
fusion. But,  by  good  Providence,  they  had  not  that 
effect  here,  the  men  being  in  the  hold.  Black-beard, 
seeing  few  or  no  hands  aboard,  told  his  men  "that 
they  were  all  knocked  to  head,  except  three  or  four; 
and  therefore,"  says  he,  "let's  jump  on  board  and 
cut  them  to  pieces." 

Whereupon,  under  the  smoke  of  one  of  the  bottles 
just  mentioned.  Black-beard  enters  with  fourteen 
men  over  the  bows  of  Maynard's  sloop,  and  were 
not  seen  by  him  until  the  air  cleared.  However,  he 
just  then  gave  a  signal  to  his  men,  who  all  rose  in 
an  instant,  and  attacked  the  pirates  with  as  much 
bravery  as  ever  was  done  upon  such  an  occasion. 
Black-beard  and  the  lieutenant  fired  the  first  shots 
at  each  other,  by  which  the  pirate  received  a  wound, 
and  then  engaged  with  swords,  till  the  lieutenant's 
unluckily  broke,  and  stepping  back  to  cock  a  pistol. 
Black-beard,  with  his  cutlass,  was  striking  at  that  in- 
stant that  one  of  Maynard's  men  gave  him  a  terrible 
wound  in  the  neck  and  throat,  by  which  the  lieuten- 
ant came  off  with  only  a  small  cut  over  his  fingers. 


148  GREAT  PIRATE  STORIES 

They  were  now  closely  and  warmly  engaged,  the 
lieutenant  and  twelve  men  against  Black-heard  and 
fourteen,  till  the  sea  was  tinctured  with  blood  round 
the  vessel.  Black-heard  received  a  shot  into  his 
body  from  the  pistol  that  Lieutenant  Maynard  dis- 
charged, yet  he  stood  his  ground,  and  fought  with 
great  fury  till  he  received  five-and-twenty  wounds, 
and  five  of  them  by  shot.  At  length,  as  he  was  cock- 
ing another  pistol,  having  fired  several  before,  he 
fell  down  dead;  by  which  time  eight  more  out  of 
the  fourteen  dropped,  and  all  the  rest,  much 
wounded,  jumped  overboard  and  called  out  for 
quarter,  which  was  granted,  though  it  was  only  pro- 
longing their  lives  a  few  days.  The  sloop  Ranger 
came  up  and  attacked  the  men  that  remained  in 
Black-beard's  sloop  with  equal  bravery,  till  they 
likewise  cried  for  quarter. 

Here  was  an  end  of  that  courageous  brute,  who 
might  have  passed  in  the  world  for  a  hero  had  he 
been  employed  in  a  good  cause. 

The  lieutenant  caused  Black-beard's  head  to  be 
severed  from  his  body,  and  hung  up  at  the  boltsprit 
end;  then  he  sailed  to  Bath  Town,  to  get  relief  for 
his  wounded  men. 

In  rummaging  the  pirate's  sloop,  they  found  sev- 
eral letters  and  written  papers,  which  discovered  the 
correspondence  between  Governor  Eden,  the  secre- 
tary and  collector,  and  also  some  traders  at  New 
York,  and  Black-beard.  It  is  likely  he  had  regard 
enough  for  his  friends  to  have  destroyed  these  pa- 


THREE  NOTORIOUS  PIRATES      149 

pers  before  action,  in  order  to  hinder  them  from 
falling  into  such  'hands,  where  the  discovery  would 
be  of  no  use  either  to  the  interest  or  reputation  of 
these  fine  gentlemen,  if  it  had  not  been  his  fixed  reso- 
lution to  have  blown  up  together,  when  he  found 
no  possibility  of  escaping. 

When  the  lieutenant  came  to  Bath  Town,  he  made 
bold  to  seize  from  the  governor's  storehouse  the 
sixty  hogsheads  of  sugar,  and  from  honest  Mr. 
Knight,  twenty;  which  it  seems  was  their  dividend  of 
the  plunder  taken  in  the  French  ship.  The  latter 
did  not  survive  this  shameful  discovery,  for,  being 
apprehensive  that  he  might  be  called  to  an  account 
for  these  trifles,  fell  sick,  it  is  thought,  with  the 
fright,  and  died  in  a  few  days. 

After  the  wounded  men  were  pretty  well  recov- 
ered, the  lieutenant  sailed  back  to  the  men-of-war 
in  James  River,  in  Virginia,  with  Black-beard's  head 
still  hanging  at  the  boltsprit  end,  and  fifteen  pris- 
oners, thirteen  of  whom  were  hanged,  it  appearing, 
upon  trial,  that  one  of  them,  viz.,  Samuel  Odell, 
was  taken  out  of  the  trading  sloop  but  the  night 
before  the  engagement.  This  poor  fellow  was  a  lit- 
tle unlucky  at  his  first  entering  upon  his  new  trade, 
there  appearing  no  less  than  seventy  wounds  upon 
him  after  the  action;  notwithstanding  which  he 
lived  and  was  cured  of  them  all.  The  other  person 
that  escaped  the  gallows  was  one  Israel  Hands,  the 
master  of  Blackbeard's  sloop,  and  formerly  captain 


150  GREAT  PIRATE  STORIES 

of  the  same,  before  the  Queen  Ann's  Revenge  was 
lost  in  Topsail  inlet. 

The  aforesaid  Hands  happened  not  to  be  in  the 
fight,  but  was  taken  afterwards  ashore  at  Bath 
Town,  having  been  sometime  before  disabled  by 
Black-beard,  in  one  of  his  savage  humors,  after  the 
following  manner:  One  night,  drinking  in  his 
cabin  with  Hands,  the  pilot,  and  another  man.  Black- 
beard,  without  any  provocation,  privately  draws  out 
a  small  pair  of  pistols,  and  cocks  them  under  the 
table,  which  being  perceived  by  the  man,  he  with- 
drew and  went  upon  deck,  leaving  Hands,  the  pilot, 
and  the  captain  together.  When  the  pistols  were 
ready  he  blew  out  the  candle,  and,  crossing  his 
hands,  discharged  them  at  his  company;  Elands,  the 
master,  was  shot  throgh  the  knee  and  lamed  for  life, 
the  other  pistol  did  no  execution.  Being  asked  the 
meaning  of  this,  he  only  answered  by  damning  them, 
that  "if  he  did  not  now  and  then  kill  one  of  them, 
they  would  forget  who  he  was." 

Hands  being  taken,  was  tried  and  condemned, 
but  Just  as  he  was  about  to  be  executed  a  ship  ar- 
rived at  Virginia  with  a  proclamation  for  prolong- 
ing the  time  of  his  Majesty's  pardon  to  such  of  the 
pirates  as  should  surrender  by  a  limited  time  therein 
expressed.  Notwithstanding  the  sentence.  Hands 
pleaded  the  pardon,  and  was  allowed  the  benefit  of 
it,  and  was  alive  some  time  ago  in  London,  begging 
his  bread. 

Now  that  we  have  given  some  account  of  Teach's 


THREE  NOTORIOUS  PIRATES      151 

life  and  actions,  it  will  not  be  amiss  that  we  speak 
of  his  beard,  since  it  did  not  a  little  contribute 
towards  making  his  name  so  terrible  in  those 
parts. 

Plutarch  and  other  grave  historians  have  taken 
notice  that  several  great  men  amongst  the  Romans 
took  their  surnames  from  certain  odd  marks  in  their 
countenances — as  Cicero,  from  a  mark,  or  vetch,  on 
his  nose — so  our  hero,  Captain  Teach,  assumed  the 
cognomen  of  Blackbeard,  from  that  large  quantity 
of  hair  which,  like  a  frightful  meteor,  covered  his 
whole  face,  and  frightened  America  more  than  any 
comet  that  has  appeared  there  a  long  time. 

This  beard  was  black,  which  he  suffered  to  grow 
of  an  extravagant  length;  as  to  breadth,  it  came  up 
to  his  eyes.  He  was  accustomed  to  twist  it  with  rib- 
bons, in  small  tails,  after  the  manner  of  our  Ramilie 
wigs,  and  turn  them  about  his  ears.  In  time  of  ac- 
tion he  wore  a  sling  over  his  shoulders,  with  three 
brace  of  pistols  hanging  in  holsters  like  bandaliers, 
and  stuck  lighted  matches  under  his  hat,  which,  ap- 
pearing on  each  side  of  his  face,  his  eyes  naturally 
looking  fierce  and  wild,  made  him  altogether  such  a 
figure  that  imagination  cannot  form  an  idea  of  a 
fury  from  hell  to  look  more  frightful. 

If  he  had  the  look  of  a  fury,  his  humors  and  pas- 
sions were  suitable  to  it. 

In  the  commonwealth  of  pirates,  he  who  goes  the 
greatest  length  of  wickedness  is  looked  upon  with 
a  kind  of  envy  amongst  them  as  a  person  of  a  more 


152  GREAT  PIRATE  STORIES 

extraordinary  gallantry,  and  is  thereby  entitled  to  be 
distinguished  by  some  post,  and  if  such  a  one  has 
but  courage,  lie  must  certainly  be  a  great  man.  The 
hero  of  whom  we  are  writing  was  thoroughly  accom- 
plished this  way,  and  some  of  his  frolics  of  wicked- 
ness were  so  extravagant,  as  if  he  aimed  at  making 
his  men  believe  he  was  a  devil  incarnate;  for  being 
one  day  at  sea,  and  a  little  flushed  with  drink, 
"Come,"  says  he,  "let  us  make  a  hell  of  our  own, 
and  try  how  long  we  can  bear  it."  Accordingly  he, 
with  two  or  three  others,  went  down  into  the  hold, 
and  closing  up  all  the  hatches,  filled  several  pots 
full  of  brimstone  and  other  combustible  matter,  and 
set  it  on  fire,  and  so  continued  till  they  were  almost 
suffocated,  when  some  of  the  men  cried  out  for  air. 
At  length  he  opened  the  hatches,  not  a  little  pleased 
that  he  held  out  the  longest. 

The  night  before  he  was  killed  he  sat  up  and 
drank  till  the  morning  with  some  of  his  own  men 
and  the  master  of  a  merchantman;  and  having  had 
intelligence  of  the  two  sloops  coming  to  attack  him, 
as  has  been  before  observed,  one  of  his  men  asked 
him,  in  case  anything  should  happen  to  him  in  the 
engagement  with  the  sloops,  whether  his  wife  knew 
where  he  had  buried  his  money?  He  answered, 
"That  nobody  but  himself  and  the  devil  knew  where 
it  was,  and  the  longest  liver  should  take  all. 

Those  of  his  crew  who  were  taken  alive  told  a 
story  which  may  appear  a  little  incredible;  however, 
we  think  it  will  not  be  fair  to  omit  it  since  we  had  it 


THREE  NOTORIOUS  PIRATES      153 

from  their  own  mouths.  That  once  upon  a  cruise 
they  found  out  that  they  had  a  man  on  board  more 
than  their  crew;  such  a  one  was  seen  several  days 
amongst  them,  sometimes  below  and  sometimes  upon 
deck,  yet  no  man  in  the  ship  could  give  an  account 
who  he  was,  or  from  whence  he  came,  but  that  he 
disappeared  a  little  before  they  were  cast  away  in 
their  great  ship;  but  it  seems  they  verily  believed  it 
was  the  devil. 

One  would  think  these  things  should  induce  them 
to  reform  their  lives,  but  so  many  reprobates  to- 
gether, encouraged  and  spirited  one  another  up  in 
their  wickedness,  to  which  a  continual  course  of 
drinking  did  not  a  little  contribute,  for  in  Black- 
beard's  journal,  which  was  taken,  there  were  several 
memorandums  of  the  following  nature  found  writ 
with  his  own  hand:  Such  a  day  rum  all  out;  our 
company  somewhat  sober;  a  damned  confusion 
amongst  us;  rouges  a-plotting;  great  talk  of  separa- 
tion; so  I  looked  sharp  for  a  prize;  such  a  day  took 
one  with  a  great  deal  of  liquor  on  board,  so  kept 
the  company  hot,  damned  hot,  then  all  things  went 
well  again. 

Thus  it  was  these  wretches  passed  their  lives, 
with  very  little  pleasure  or  satisfaction  in  the  pos- 
session of  what  they  violently  take  away  from 
others,  and  sure  to  pay  for  it  at  last  by  an  igno- 
minious death. 

The  names  of  the  pirates  killed  in  the  engage- 
ment, are  as  follows: — 


154  CRI-AT  PIRATE  STORIES 

Edward  lY'ach,  commander;  IMiilip  Morton,  gun- 
ner; Garret  Gibhens,  lioatsvvain;  Owen  Roberts,  car- 
penter; Tliomas  Miller,  (|uartermaster ;  John 
Husk,  Joseph  Curtice,  Joseph  Brooks  (i),  Nath. 
Jackson.  All  the  rest,  except  the  two  last,  were 
woundetl,  and  afterwards  hanged  in  Virginia: — 
Joiin  Carnes,  Joseph  Brooks  (2),  James  Blake, 
John  Gills,  Thomas  Gates,  James  White,  Richard 
Stiles,  Ca-sar,  Joseph  Philips,  James  Robbins,  John 
Martin,  Edward  Salter,  Stephen  Daniel,  Richard 
Greensail,  Israel  Hands,  pardoned,  Samuel  Odel, 
acquitted. 

There  were  in  the  pirate  sloops,  and  ashore  In  a 
tent  near  where  the  sloops  lay,  twenty-five  hogs- 
heads of  sugar,  eleven  telrces,  and  one  hundred  and 
forty-five  bags  of  cocoa,  a  barrel  of  indigo,  and  a 
bale  of  cotton;  which,  with  what  was  taken  from 
the  governor  and  secretary,  and  the  sale  of  the 
sloop,  came  to  £2,500,  besides  the  rewards  paid  by 
the  governor  of  Virginia,  pursuant  to  his  procla- 
mation; all  which  was  divided  among  the  compa- 
nies of  the  two  ships,  Lime  and  Pearl,  that  lay  in 
James  River:  the  brave  fellows  that  took  them  com- 
ing in  for  no  more  than  their  dividend  amongst  the 
rest,  and  were  paid  it  not  till  four  years  afterwards. 


THREE  NOTORIOUS  PIRATES      155 

II 
Captain  William  Kid 

We  are  now  going  to  give  an  account  of  one 
whose  name  is  better  known  in  England  than  most 
of  those  whose  histories  we  have  already  related; 
the  person  we  mean  is  Captain  Kid,  whose  public 
trial  and  execution  here  rendered  him  the  subject 
of  all  conversation,  so  that  his  actions  have  been 
chanted  about  in  ballads;  however,  it  is  now  a  con- 
siderable time  since  these  things  passed,  and  though 
the  people  knew  in  general  that  Captain  Kid  was 
hanged,  and  that  his  crime  was  piracy,  yet  there 
were  scarce  any,  even  at  that  time,  who  were  ac- 
quainted with  his  life  or  actions,  or  could  account 
for  his  turning  pirate. 

In  the  beginning  of  King  William's  war.  Captain 
Kid  commanded  a  privateer  in  the  West  Indies,  and 
by  several  adventurous  actions  acquired  the  reputa- 
tion of  a  brave  man,  as  well  as  an  experienced  sea- 
man. About  this  time  the  pirates  were  very  trouble- 
some in  those  parts,  wherefore  Captain  Kid  was 
recommended  by  the  Lord  Bellamont,  then  governor 
of  Barbadoes,  as  well  as  by  several  other  persons,  to 
the  Government  here,  as  a  person  very  fit  to  be  en- 
trusted with  the  command  of  a  Government  ship, 
and  to  be  employed  in  cruising  upon  the  pirates,  as 
knowing  those  seas  perfectly  well,  and  being  ac- 
quainted with  all  their  lurking  places;  but  what  rea- 
sons governed  the  politics  of  those  times  I  cannot 


156  GREAT  PIRATE  STORIES 

tell,  but  this  proposal  met  with  no  encouragement 
here,  though  it  is  certain  it  would  have  been  of  great 
consequence  to  the  subject,  our  merchants  suffering 
incredible  damages  by  those  robbers. 

Upon  this  neglect  the  Lord  Bellamont  and  some 
others,  who  knew  what  great  captures  had  been 
made  by  the  pirates,  and  what  a  prodigious  wealth 
must  be  in  their  possession,  were  tempted  to  fit  out 
a  ship  at  their  own  private  charge,  and  to  give  the 
command  of  it  to  Captain  Kid;  and  to  give  the  thing 
a  great  reputation,  as  well  as  to  keep  their  seamen 
under  the  better  command,  they  procured  the  King's 
Commission  for  the  said  Captain  Kid,  of  which  the 
following  is  an  exact  copy : — 

"William  Rex, — William  the  Third,  by  the  grace  of 
God,  King  of  England,  Scotland,  France,  and  Ireland,  De- 
fender of  the  Faith,  &c.  To  our  trusty  and  well-beloved 
Captain  William  Kid,  Commander  of  the  ship  the  Adventure 
galley,  or  to  any  other  the  commander  of  the  same  for  the 
time  being,  greeting;  Whereas  we  are  informed,  that  Captain 
Thomas  Too,  John  Ireland,  Captain  Thomas  Wake,  and 
Captain  William  Maze,  or  Mace,  and  other  subjects,  natives 
or  inhabitants  of  New  York,  and  elsewhere,  in  our  planta- 
tions in  America,  have  associated  themselves,  with  divers 
others,  wicked  and  ill-disposed  persons,  and  do,  against  the 
law  of  nations,  commit  many  and  great  piracies,  robberies, 
and  depredations  on  the  seas  upon  the  parts  of  America,  and 
in  other  parts,  to  the  great  hindrance  and  discouragement  of 
trade  and  navigation,  and  to  the  great  danger  and  hurt  of  our 
loving  subjects,  our  allies,  and  all  others,  navigating  the  seas 
upon  their  lawful  occasions.     Now  know  ye,  that  we  being 


THREE  NOTORIOUS  PIRATES      157 

desirous  to  prevent  the  aforesaid  mischiefs,  and,  as  much  as 
in  us  lies,  to  bring  the  said  pirates,  freebooters  and  sea-rovers 
to  justice,  have  thought  fit,  and  do  hereby  give  and  grant  to 
the  said  William  Kid  (to  w^hom  our  Commissioners  for 
exercising  the  office  of  Lord  High  Admiral  of  England,  have 
granted  a  commission  as  a  private  man-of-war,  bearing  date 
December  ii,  1695),  ^n^  "n^^  the  commander  of  the  said 
ship  for  the  time  being,  and  unto  the  officers,  mariners,  and 
others,  which  shall  be  under  your  command,  full  power  and 
authority  to  apprehend,  seize,  and  take  into  your  custody  as 
well  the  said  Captain  Thomas  Too,  John  Ireland,  Captain 
Thomas  Wake,  and  Captain  William  Maze,  or  Mace,  as  all 
such  pirates,  freebooters  and  sea-rovers,  being  either  our  sub- 
jects, or  of  other  nations  associated  with  them,  which  you 
shall  meet  with  upon  the  seas  or  coasts  of  America,  or  upon 
any  other  seas  or  coasts,  with  all  their  ships  and  vessels ;  and 
all  such  merchandises,  money,  goods,  and  wares  as  shall  be 
found  on  board,  or  with  them,  in  case  they  shall  willingly 
yield  themselves;  but  if  they  will  not  yield  without  fighting, 
then  you  are  by  force  to  compel  them  to  yield.  And  we  do 
also  require  you  to  bring,  or  cause  to  be  brought,  such  pirates, 
freebooters,  or  sea-rovers,  as  you  shall  seize,  to  a  legal  trial, 
to  the  end  they  may  be  proceeded  against  according  to  the 
law  in  such  cases.  And  we  do  hereby  command  all  our 
officers,  ministers,  and  other  our  loving  subjects  whatsoever, 
to  be  aiding  and  assisting  to  you  in  the  premisses.  And  we 
do  hereby  enjoin  you  to  keep  an  exact  journal  of  your  pro- 
ceedings in  the  execution  of  the  premisses,  and  set  down  the 
names  of  such  pirates,  and  of  their  officers  and  company,  and 
the  names  of  such  ships  and  vessels  as  you  shall  by  virtue  of 
these  presents  take  and  seize,  and  the  quantities  of  arms, 
ammunition,  provision,  and  lading  of  such  ships,  and  the  true 


158  C.KEAT  PIRATE  STORIES 

value  of  the  same,  as  near  as  you  judge.  And  we  do  hereby 
strictly  charge  and  command  you  as  you  will  answer  the 
contrary  at  your  peril,  that  you  do  not,  in  any  manner,  offend 
or  molest  our  friends  or  allies,  their  ships,  or  subjects,  by 
colour  or  pretence  of  these  presents,  or  the  authority  thereby 
granted.  In  witness  whereof  we  have  caused  our  Great  Seal 
of  England  to  be  affixed  to  these  presents.  Given  at  our 
Court  of  Kensington,  the  26th  day  of  January,  1695,  in  the 
seventh  year  of  our  reign." 

Captain  Kid  had  also  another  commission,  which 
was  called  a  Commission  of  Reprisals;  for  it  being 
then  war  time,  this  commission  was  to  justify  him  in 
the  taking  of  French  merchant  ships,  in  case  he 
should  meet  with  any. 

With  these  two  commissions  he  sailed  out  of 
Plymouth  in  May,  1696,  in  the  Adventure  galley  of 
thirty  guns  and  eighty  men.  The  place  he  first  de- 
signed for  was  New  York;  in  his  voyage  thither  he 
took  a  French  banker,  but  this  was  no  act  of  piracy, 
he  having  a  commission  for  that  purpose,  as  we  have 
just  observed. 

When  he  arrived  at  New  York  he  put  up  articles 
for  engaging  more  hands,  it  being  necessary  to  his 
ship's  crew,  since  he  proposed  to  deal  with  a  des- 
perate enemy.  The  terms  he  ofifered  were  that  every 
man  should  have  a  share  of  what  was  taken,  re- 
serving for  himself  and  owners  forty  shares.  Upon 
which  encouragement  he  soon  increased  his  com- 
pany to  a  hundred  and  fifty-five  men. 

With  this  company  he  sailed  first  for  Madeira. 


THREE  NOTORIOUS  PIRATES      159 

where  he  took  in  wine  and  some  other  necessaries; 
from  thence  he  proceeded  to  Bonavist,  one  of  the 
Cape  de  Verde  islands,  to  furnish  the  ship  with  salt, 
and  from  thence  went  immediately  to  St.  Jago,  an- 
other of  the  Cape  de  Verde  islands,  in  order  to 
stock  himself  with  provisions.  When  all  this  was 
done  he  bent  his  course  to  Madagascar,  the  known 
rendezvous  of  pirates.  In  his  way  he  fell  in  with 
Captain  Warren,  commodore  of  three  men-of-war; 
he  acquainted  them  with  his  design,  kept  them  com- 
pany two  or  three  days,  and  then  leaving  them  made 
the  best  way  for  Madagascar,  where  he  arrived  in 
February,  1696,  just  nine  months  from  his  depar- 
ture from  Plymouth. 

It  happened  that  at  this  time  the  pirate  ships  were 
most  of  them  out  in  search  of  prey,  so  that,  ac- 
cording to  the  best  intelligence  Captain  Kid  could 
get,  there  was  not  one  of  them  at  this  time  about 
the  island,  wherefore,  having  spent  some  time  in 
watering  his  ship  and  taking  in  more  provisions,  he 
thought  of  trying  his  fortune  on  the  coast  of  Mala- 
bar, where  he  arrived  in  the  month  of  June  follow- 
ing, four  months  from  his  reaching  Madagascar. 
Hereabouts  he  made  an  unsuccessful  cruise,  touch- 
ing sometimes  at  the  island  of  Mahala,  sometimes 
at  that  of  Joanna,  between  Malabar  and  Madagas- 
car. His  provisions  were  every  day  wasting,  and 
his  ship  began  to  want  repair;  wherefore,  when  he 
was  at  Joanna,  he  found  means  of  borrowing  a  sum 
of  money  from  some  Frenchmen  who  had  lost  their 


160  GREAT  PIRATE  STORIES 

ship,  hut  saved  their  effects,  and  with  this  he  pur- 
chased materials  for  putting  his  ship  in  good  repair. 

It  does  not  appear  all  this  while  that  he  had  the 
least  design  of  turning  pirate,  for  near  Mahala  and 
Joanna  both  he  met  with  several  Indian  ships  richly 
laden,  to  which  he  did  not  offer  the  least  violence, 
though  he  was  strong  enough  to  have  done  what  he 
pleased  with  them;  and  the  first  outrage  or  depreda- 
tion I  find  he  committed  upon  mankind  was  after 
his  repairing  his  ship  and  leaving  Joanna.  He 
touched  at  a  place  called  Mabbee,  upon  the  Red 
Sea,  where  he  took  some  Guinea  corn  from  the 
natives,  by  force. 

After  this  he  sailed  to  Bab's  Key,  a  place  upon 
a  little  island  at  the  entrance  of  the  Red  Sea.  Here 
it  was  that  he  first  began  to  open  himself  to  his 
ship's  company,  and  let  them  understand  that  he  in- 
tended to  change  his  measures;  for,  happening  to 
talk  of  the  Moca  fleet  which  was  to  sail  that  way,  he 
said,  "We  have  been  unsuccessful  hitherto;  but 
courage,  my  boys,  we'll  make  our  fortunes  out  of 
this  fleet."  And  finding  that  none  of  them  ap- 
peared averse  to  it  he  ordered  a  boat  out,  well 
manned,  to  go  upon  the  coast  to  make  discoveries, 
commanding  them  to  take  a  prisoner  and  bring  to 
him,  or  get  intelligence  any  way  they  could.  The 
boat  returned  in  a  few  days,  bringing  him  word 
that  they  saw  fourteen  or  fifteen  ships  ready  to  sail, 
some  with  English,  some  with  Dutch,  and  some  with 
Moorish  colors. 


THREE  NOTORIOUS  PIRATES      161 

We  cannot  account  for  this  sudden  change  in  his 
conduct,  otherwise  than  by  supposing  that  he  first 
meant  well,  while  he  had  hopes  of  making  his  for- 
tune by  taking  of  pirates;  but  now,  weary  of  ill- 
success,  and  fearing  lest  his  owners,  out  of  humor  at 
their  great  expenses,  should  dismiss  him,  and  he 
should  want  employment,  and  be  marked  out  for 
an  unlucky  man — rather,  I  say,  than  run  the  hazard 
of  poverty,  he  resolved  to  do  his  business  one  way, 
since  he  could  not  do  it  another. 

He  therefore  ordered  a  man  continually  to  watch 
at  the  mast-head,  lest  this  fleet  should  go  by  them; 
and  about  four  days  after,  towards  evening  it  ap- 
peared in  sight,  being  convoyed  by  one  English  and 
one  Dutch  man-of-war.  Kid  soon  fell  in  with  them, 
and,  getting  into  the  midst  of  them,  fired  at  a 
Moorish  ship  which  was  next  him;  but  the  men-of- 
war,  taking  the  alarm,  bore  down  upon  Kid,  and, 
firing  upon  him,  obliged  him  to  sheer  off,  he  not  be- 
ing strong  enough  to  contend  with  them.  Now  he 
had  begun  hostilities  he  resolved  to  go  on,  and  there- 
fore he  went  and  cruised  along  the  coast  of  Mala- 
bar. The  first  prize  he  met  was  a  small  vessel  be- 
longing to  Aden;  the  vessel  was  Moorish,  and  the 
owners  were  Moorish  merchants,  but  the  master  was 
an  Englishman;  his  name  was  Parker.  Kid  forced 
him  and  a  Portuguese  that  was  called  Don  Antonio, 
which  were  all  the  Europeans  on  board,  to  take  on 
with  them;  the  first  he  designed  as  a  pilot,  and  the 
last  as  an  interpreter.     He  also  used  the  men  very 


162        grI':at  pirati-  srr)Rii:s 

cruelly,  causing  them  to  be  hoisted  up  by  the  arms, 
and  tl rubbed  with  a  naked  cutlass,  to  force  them  to 
discover  whether  they  had  money  on  board,  and 
where  it  lay;  but  as  they  had  neither  gold  nor  silver 
on  board  he  got  nothing  by  his  cruelty;  however,  he 
took  from  them  a  bale  of  pepper,  and  a  bale  of  cof- 
fee, and  so  let  them  go. 

A  little  time  after  he  touched  at  Carawar,  a  place 
upon  the  same  coast,  where,  before  he  arrived,  the 
news  of  what  he  had  done  to  the  Moorish  ship  had 
reached  them;  for  some  of  the  English  merchants 
there  had  received  an  account  of  it  from  the  owners, 
who  corresponded  with  them;  wherefore,  as  soon  as 
Kid  came  in,  he  was  suspected  to  be  the  person  who 
committed  this  piracy,  and  one  Mr.  Harvey  and 
Mr.  Mason,  two  of  the  English  factory,  came  on 
board  and  asked  for  Parker  and  Antonio,  the  Portu- 
guese, but  Kid  denied  that  he  knew  any  such  per- 
sons, having  secured  them  both  in  a  private  place  in 
the  hold,  where  they  were  kept  for  seven  or  eight 
days,  that  is  till  Kid  sailed  from  thence. 

However,  the  coast  was  alarmed,  and  a  Portu- 
guese man-of-war  was  sent  out  to  cruise.  Kid  met 
with  her,  and  fought  her  about  six  hours,  gallantly 
enough;  but  finding  her  too  strong  to  be  taken,  he 
quitted  her,  for  he  was  able  to  run  away  from 
her  when  he  would.  Then  he  went  to  a  place 
called  Porco,  where  he  watered  the  ship,  and  bought 
a  number  of  hogs  of  the  natives  to  victual  his  com- 
pany. 


THREE  NOTORIOUS  PIRATES       163 

Soon  after  this  he  came  up  with  a  Moorish  ship, 
the  master  whereof  was  a  Dutchman,  called  Schip- 
per  Mitchel,  and  chased  her  under  French  colors, 
which,  they  observing,  hoisted  French  colors  too. 
When  he  came  up  with  her  he  hailed  her  in  French, 
and  they,  having  a  Frenchman  on  board,  answered 
him  in  the  same  language;  upon  which  he  ordered 
them  to  send  their  boat  on  board.  They  were 
obliged  to  do  so,  and  having  examined  who  they 
were,  and  from  whence  they  came,  he  asked  the 
Frenchman,  who  was  a  passenger.  If  he  had  a  French 
pass  for  himself?  The  Frenchman  gave  him  to 
understand  that  he  had.  Then  he  told  the  French- 
man he  must  pass  for  captain,  and  "by  G — d,"  says 
he,  "you  are  the  captain."  The  Frenchman  durst 
not  refuse  doing  as  he  would  have  him.  The  mean- 
ing of  this  was,  that  he  would  seize  the  ship  as  fair 
prize,  and  as  if  she  had  belonged  to  French  sub- 
jects, according  to  a  commission  he  had  for  that 
purpose;  though,  one  would  think,  after  what  he  had 
already  done,  that  he  need  not  have  recourse  to  a 
quibble  to  give  his  actions  a  color. 

In  short,  he  took  the  cargo  and  sold  it  some  time 
after;  yet  still  he  seemed  to  have  some  fears  upon 
him  lest  these  proceedings  should  have  a  bad  end, 
for,  coming  up  with  a  Dutch  ship  some  time,  when 
his  men  thought  of  nothing  but  attacking  her.  Kid 
opposed  It;  upon  which  a  mutiny  arose,  and  the  ma- 
jority being  for  taking  the  said  ship,  and  arming 
themselves  to  man  the  boat  to  go  and  seize  her,  he 


164        gr]<:at  iMRA^ri-:  sroRii-is 

told  them,  such  as  did,  never  should  come  on  board 
him  again,  which  put  an  end  to  the  design,  so  that 
he  kept  company  with  the  said  ship  some  time,  with- 
out offering  her  any  violence.  However,  this  dis- 
pute was  the  occasion  of  an  accident,  upon  which 
an  indictment  was  afterwards  grounded  against 
Kid;  for  Moor,  the  gunner,  being  one  day  upon 
deck,  and  talking  with  Kid  about  the  said  Dutch 
ship,  some  words  arose  between  them,  and  Moor 
told  Kid  that  he  had  ruined  them  all;  upon  which 
Kid,  calling  him  dog,  took  up  a  bucket  and  struck 
him  with  it,  which,  breaking  his  skull,  he  died  the 
next  day. 

But  Kid's  penitential  fit  did  not  last  long,  for, 
coasting  along  Malabar,  he  met  with  a  great  num- 
ber of  boats,  all  which  he  plundered.  Upon  the 
same  coast  he  also  lighted  upon  a  Portuguese  ship, 
which  he  kept  possession  of  a  week,  and  then,  hav- 
ing taken  out  of  her  some  chests  of  Indian  goods, 
thirty  jars  of  butter,  with  some  wax,  iron,  and  a 
hundred  bags  of  rice,  he  let  her  go. 

Much  about  the  same  time  he  went  to  one  of  the 
Malabar  islands  for  wood  and  water,  and  his  cooper, 
being  ashore,  was  murdered  by  the  natives;  upon 
which  Kid  himself  landed,  and  burnt  and  pillaged 
several  of  their  houses,  the  people  running  away; 
but  having  taken  one,  he  caused  him  to  be  tied  to  a 
tree,  and  commanded  one  of  his  men  to  shoot  him; 
then  putting  to  sea  again  he  took  the  greatest  prize 
which  fell  into  his  hands  while  he  followed  his  trade. 


THREE  NOTORIOUS  PIRATES      165 

This  was  a  Moorish  ship  of  four  hundred  tons, 
richly  laden,  named  the  Queda,  merchant,  the  mas- 
ter whereof  was  an  Englishman — he  was  called 
Wright,  for  the  Indians  often  make  use  of  English 
or  Dutch  men  to  command  their  ships,  their  own 
mariners  not  being  so  good  artists  in  navigation. 
Kid  chased  her  under  French  colors,  and,  having 
come  up  with  her,  he  ordered  her  to  hoist  out  her 
boat  and  to  send  on  board  of  him,  which,  being 
done,  he  told  Wright  he  was  his  prisoner;  and  in- 
forming himself  concerning  the  said  ship,  he  under- 
stood there  were  no  Europeans  on  board  except  two 
Dutch,  and  one  Frenchman,  all  the  rest  being  In- 
dians or  Armenians,  and  that  the  Armenians  were 
part  owners  of  the  cargo.  Kid  gave  the  Armenians 
to  understand  that  if  they  would  offer  anything  that 
was  worth  his  taking  for  their  ransom,  he  would 
hearken  to  it;  upon  which  they  proposed  to  pay  him 
twenty  thousand  rupees,  not  quite  three  thousand 
pounds  sterling;  but  Kid  judged  this  would  be  mak- 
ing a  bad  bargain,  wherefore  he  rejected  it,  and  set- 
ting the  crew  on  shore  at  different  places  on  the 
coast,  he  soon  sold  as  much  of  the  cargo  as  came  to 
near  ten  thousand  pounds.  With  part  of  it  he  also 
trafficked,  receiving  in  exchange  provisions  or  such 
other  goods  as  he  wanted.  By  degrees  he  disposed 
of  the  whole  cargo,  and  when  the  division  was  made 
it  came  to  about  two  hundred  pounds  a  man,  and, 
having  reserved  forty  shares  to  himself,  his  dividend 
amounted  to  about  eight  thousand  pounds  sterling. 


166  GRF.AT  PIRA'rr:  STORIFS 

The  Indians  along  the  coast  came  on  board  and 
trafficked  with  all  freedom,  and  he  punctually  per- 
formetl  his  bargains,  till  about  the  time  he  was  ready 
to  sail;  and  then,  thinking  he  should  have  no  fur- 
ther occasion  for  them,  he  made  no  scruple  of  taking 
their  goods  and  setting  them  on  shore  without  any 
payment  in  money  or  goods,  which  they  little  ex- 
pected; for  as  they  had  been  used  to  deal  with 
pirates,  they  always  found  them  men  of  honor  in 
the  way  of  trade — a  people,  enemies  to  deceit,  and 
that  scorned  to  rob  but  in  their  own  way. 

Kid  put  some  of  his  men  on  board  the  Queda, 
merchant,  and  with  this  ship  and  his  own  sailed 
for  Madagascar.  As  soon  as  he  was  arrived  and 
had  cast  anchor  there  came  on  board  of  him  a  canoe, 
in  which  were  several  Englishmen  who  had  for- 
merly been  well  acquainted  wMth  Kid.  As  soon  as 
they  saw  him  they  saluted  him  and  told  him  they 
were  informed  he  was  come  to  take  them,  and  hang 
them,  which  would  be  a  little  unkind  in  such  an  old 
acquaintance.  Kid  soon  dissipated  their  doubts  by 
swearing  he  had  no  such  design,  and  that  he  was  now 
in  every  respect  their  brother,  and  just  as  bad  as 
they,  and,  calling  for  a  cup  of  bomboo,  drank  their 
captain's  health. 

These  men  belonged  to  a  pirate  ship,  called  the 
Resolution,  formerly  the  Mocco,  merchant,  whereof 
one  Captain  Culliford  was  commander,  and  which 
lay  at  an  anchor  not  far  from  them.  Kid  went  on 
board  with  them,  promising  them  his  friendship  and 


7 


THREE  NOTORIOUS  PIRATES      167 

assistance,  and  CuUiford  In  his  turn  came  on  board 
of  Kid;  and  Kid,  to  testify  his  sincerity  In  Iniquity, 
finding  Culliford  in  want  of  some  necessaries,  made 
him  a  present  of  an  anchor  and  some  guns,  to  fit 
him  out  for  the  sea  again. 

The  Adventure  galley  was  now  so  old  and  leaky 
that  they  were  forced  to  keep  two  pumps  continually 
going,  wherefore  Kid  shifted  all  the  guns  and  tackle 
out  of  her  into  the  Qiieda,  merchant,  intending  her 
for  his  man-of-war;  and  as  he  had  divided  the  money 
before,  he  now  made  a  division  of  the  remainder  of 
the  cargo.  Soon  after  which  the  greatest  part  of 
the  company  left  him,  some  going  on  board  Cap- 
tain Culliford,  and  others  absconding  In  the  country, 
so  that  he  had  not  above  forty  men  left. 

He  put  to  sea  and  happened  to  touch  at  Amboyna, 
one  of  the  Dutch  spice  islands,  where  he  was  told 
that  the  news  of  his  actions  had  reached  England, 
and  that  he  was  there  declared  a  pirate. 

The  truth  of  it  Is,  his  piracies  so  alarmed  our 
merchants  that  some  motions  were  made  In  Parlia- 
ment, to  Inquire  into  the  commission  that  was  given 
him,  and  the  persons  who  fitted  him  out.  These  pro- 
ceedings seemed  to  lean  a  little  hard  upon  the  Lord 
Bellamont,  who  thought  himself  so  much  touched 
thereby  that  he  published  a  justification  of  himself 
in  a  pamphlet  after  Kid's  execution.  In  the  mean- 
time it  was  thought  advisable,  in  order  to  stop  the 
course  of  these  piracies,  to  publish  a  proclamation, 
offering  the  king's  free  pardon  to  all  such  pirates  as 


168  GRKAT  PIRATE  STORIES 

should  voluntarily  surrender  themselves,  whatever 
piracies  they  had  been  guilty  of  at  any  time,  before 
the  last  day  of  April,  1699.  That  is  to  say,  for  all 
piracies  committed  eastward  of  the  Cape  of  Good 
Hope,  to  the  longitude  antl  meridian  of  Socatora 
and  Cape  Camorin.  In  which  proclamation  Avery  * 
and  Kid  were  excepted  by  name. 

When  Kiel  left  Amboyna  he  knew  nothing  of 
this  proclamation,  for  certainly  had  he  had  notice 
of  his  being  excepted  in  it  he  would  not  have  been 
so  infatuated  to  run  himself  into  the  very  jaws  of 
danger;  but  relying  upon  his  interest  with  the  Lord 
Bellamont,  and  fancying  that  a  French  pass  or  two 
he  found  on  board  some  of  the  ships  he  took  would 
serve  to  countenance  the  matter,  and  that  part  of 
the  booty  he  got  would  gain  him  new  friends — I  say, 
all  these  things  made  him  flatter  himself  that  all 
would  be  hushed,  and  that  justice  would  "but  wink 
at  him.  Wherefore  he  sailed  directly  for  New 
York,  where  he  was  no  sooner  arrived  but  by  the 
Lord  Bellamont's  orders  he  was  secured  with  all  his 
papers  and  effects.  Many  of  his  fellow-adventurers 
who  had  forsook  him  at  Madagascar,  came  over 
from  thence  passengers,  some  to  New  England,  and 
some  to  Jersey,  where,  hearing  of  the  king's  procla- 
mation for  pardoning  of  pirates,  they  surrendered 
themselves  to  the  governor  of  those  places.  At  first 
they  were  admitted  to  ball,  but  soon  after  were  laid 

*  Avery    was    called    "The    King    of    the    Pirates."      See    "The 
Daughter  of  the  Great  Mogul." 


THREE  NOTORIOUS  PIRATES      169 

in  strict  confinement,  where  they  were  kept  for  some 
time,  till  an  opportunity  happened  of  sending  them 
with  their  captain  over  to  England  to  be  tried. 

Accordingly,  a  Sessions  of  Admiralty  being  held 
at  the  Old  Bailey,  in  May,  1701,  Captain  Kid, 
Nicholas  Churchill,  James  How,  Robert  Lumley, 
William  Jenkins,  Gabriel  Loff,  Hugh  Parrot,  Rich- 
ard Barlicorn,  Abel  Owens,  and  Darby  Mullins, 
were  arraigned  for  piracy  and  robbery  on  the  high 
seas,  and  all  found  guilty  except  three:  these  were 
Robert  Lumley,  William  Jenkins,  and  Richard 
Barlicorn,  who,  proving  themselves  to  be  appren- 
tices to  some  of  the  officers  of  the  ship,  and  pro- 
ducing their  indentures  in  court,  were  acquitted. 

The  three  above  mentioned,  though  they  were 
proved  to  be  concerned  in  taking  and  sharing  the 
ship  and  goods  mentioned  in  the  indictment,  yet,  as 
the  gentlemen  of  the  long  robe  rightly  distinguished, 
there  was  a  great  difference  between  their  circum- 
stances and  the  rest;  for  there  must  go  an  intention 
of  the  mind  and  a  freedom  of  the  will  to  the  com- 
mitting an  act  of  felony  or  piracy.  A  pirate  is  not 
to  be  understood  to  be  under  constraint,  but  a  free 
agent;  for,  in  this  case,  the  bare  act  will  not  make 
a  man  guilty,  unless  the  will  make  it  so. 

Kid  was  tried  upon  an  indictment  of  murder  also 
— viz.,  for  killing  Moor,  the  gunner — and  found 
guilty  of  the  same. 

As  to  Captain  Kid's  defense,  he  insisted  much 
upon  his  own  innocence,  and  the  villainy  of  his  men. 


170  GREAT  PI  RATI-   STORIES 

He  said  he  went  out  in  a  laudable  employment,  and 
had  no  occasion,  bcin^  then  in  ^ood  circumstances, 
to  go  a-pirating;  that  the  men  often  mutinied  against 
him,  and  did  as  they  pleased;  that  he  was  threatened 
to  he  shot  in  his  cabin,  and  that  ninety-five  left  him 
at  one  time,  and  set  fire  to  his  boat,  so  that  he  was 
disabled  from  bringing  his  ship  home,  or  the  prizes 
he  took,  to  have  them  regularly  condemned,  which 
he  said  were  taken  by  virtue  of  a  commission  under 
the  broad  seal,  they  having  French  passes.  1  he 
captain  called  one  Colonel  Hewson  to  his  reputation, 
who  gave  him  an  extraordinary  character,  and  de- 
clared to  the  court  that  he  had  served  under  his 
command,  and  been  in  two  engagements  with  him 
against  the  French,  in  which  he  fought  as  well  as 
any  man  he  ever  saw;  that  there  were  only  Kid's 
ship  and  his  own  against  Monsieur  du  Cass,  who 
commanded  a  squadron  of  six  sail,  and  they  got  the 
better  of  him.  But  this  being  several  years  before 
the  facts  mentioned  in  the  indictment  were  com- 
mitted, proved  of  no  manner  of  service  to  the  pris- 
oner on  his  trial. 

As  CO  the  friendship  shown  to  Culliford,  a  notori- 
ous pirate.  Kid  denied,  and  said  he  intended  to  have 
taken  him,  but  his  men,  being  a  parcel  of  rogues  and 
villains,  refused  to  stand  by  him,  and  several  of  them 
ran  away  from  his  ship  to  the  said  pirate.  But  the 
evidence  being  full  and  particular  against  him,  he 
was  found  guilty  as  before  mentioned. 

When  Kid  was  asked  what  he  had  to  say  why 


I 


THREE  NOTORIOUS  PIRATES      171 

sentence  should  not  pass  against  him,  he  answered 
that  "he  had  nothing  to  say,  but  that  he  had  been 
sworn  against  by  perjured,  wicked  people."  And 
when  sentence  was  pronounced,  he  said,  "My  lord, 
it  is  a  very  hard  sentence.  For  my  part  I  am  the 
innocentest  person  of  them  all,  only  I  have  been 
sworn  against  by  perjured  persons." 

Wherefore,  about  a  week  after.  Captain  Kid, 
Nicholas  Churchill,  James  How,  Gabriel  Loff, 
Hugh  Parrot,  Abel  Owen,  and  Darby  Mullins,  were 
executed  at  Execution  Dock,  and  afterwards  hung 
up  in  chains,  at  some  distance  from  each  other  down 
the  river,  where  their  bodies  hung  exposed  for  many 
years. 

Ill 

Captain  Bartholomew  Roberts  and  His  Crew 

Bartholomew  Roberts  sailed  in  an  honest  employ 
from  London,  aboard  of  the  Princess,  Captain 
Plumb,  commander,  of  which  ship  he  was  second 
mate.  He  left  England  November,  17 19,  and 
arrived  at  Guinea  a;bout  February  following  and 
being  at  Anamaboe,  taking  in  slaves  for  the  West 
Indies,  was  taken  in  the  said  ship  by  Captain  Howel 
Davis.  In  the  beginning  he  was  very  averse  to  this 
sort  of  life,  and  would  certainly  have  escaped  from 
them  had  a  fair  opportunity  presented  itself;  yet 
afterwards  he  changed  his  principles,  as  many  be- 
sides him  have  done  upon  another  element,  and  per- 
haps for  the  same  reason  too,  viz.,  preferment;  and 


172  GREAT  PIRATE  STORIES 

what  he  did  not  like  as  a  private  man  he  could  recon- 
cile to  his  conscience  as  a  commander. 

Davis  having  been  killed  in  the  Island  of  Prin- 
ces whilst  planning  to  capture  it  with  all  its  inhabit- 
ants, the  company  found  themselves  under  the  neces- 
sity of  filling  up  liis  post,  for  which  there  appeared 
two  or  three  candidates  among  the  select  part  of 
them  that  were  distinguished  by  the  title  of  Lords 
— such  were  Sympson,  Ashplant,  Anstis,  &c. — and 
on  canvassing  this  matter,  how  shattered  and  weak  a 
condition  their  government  must  be  without  a  head, 
since  Davis  had  been  removed  in  the  manner  before 
mentioned,  my  Lord  Dennis  proposed,  it  is  said, 
over  a  bowl,  to  this  purpose: 

"That  it  was  not  of  any  great  signification  who 
was  dignified  with  title,  for  really  and  in  good  truth 
all  good  governments  had,  like  theirs,  the  supreme 
power  lodged  with  the  community,  who  might  doubt- 
less depute  and  revoke  as  suited  interest  or  humor. 
We  are  the  original  of 'this  claim,"  says  he,  "and 
should  a  captain  be  so  saucy  as  to  exceed  prescription 
at  any  time,  why,  down  with  him!  It  will  be  a  cau- 
tion after  he  is  dead  to  his  successors  of  what  fatal 
consequence  any  sort  of  assuming  may  be.  How- 
ever, it  is  my  advice  that  while  we  are  sober  we 
pitch  upon  a  marh  of  courage  and  skilled  in  naviga- 
tion, one  who  by  his  council  and  bravery  seems  best 
stble  to  defend  this  commonwealth,  and  ward  us 
from  the  dangers  and  tempests  of  an  unstable  ele- 
ment,  and  the  fatal  consequences  of  anarchy;  and 


THREE  NOTORIOUS  PIRATES      173 

such  a  one  I  take  Roberts  to  be — a  fellow,  I  think, 
in  all  respects  worthy  your  esteem  and  favor." 

This  speech  was  loudly  applauded  by  all  but  Lord 
Sympson,  who  had  secret  expectations  himself,  but 
on  this  disappointment  grew  sullen  and  left  them, 
swearing  "he  did  not  care  who  they  chose  captain 
so  it  was  not  a  papist,  for  against  them  he  had  con- 
ceived an  irreconcilable  hatred,  for  that  his  father 
had  been  a  sufferer  in  Monmouth's  rebellion." 

Roberts  was  accordingly  elected,  though  he  had 
not  been  above  six  weeks  among  them.  The  choice 
was  confirmed  both  by  the  Lords  and  Commoners, 
and  he  accepted  of  the  honor,  saying  that,  since  he 
had  dipped  his  hands  in  muddy  water  and  must  be 
a  pirate,  it  was  better  being  a  commander  than  a 
common  man. 

As  soon  as  the  government  was  settled,  by  pro- 
moting other  officers  in  the  room  of  those  that  were 
killed  by  the  Portuguese,  the  company  resolved  to 
avenge  Captain  Davis's  death,  he  being  more  than 
ordinarily  respected  by  the  crew  for  his  affability  and 
good  nature,  as  well  as  his  conduct  and  bravery  upon 
all  occasions;  and,  pursuant  to  this  resolution,  about 
thirty  men  were  landed,  in  order  to  make  an  attack 
upon  the  fort,  which  must  be  ascended  to  by  a  steep 
hill  against  the  mouth  of  the  cannon.  These  men 
were  headed  by  one  Kennedy,  a  bold,  daring  fellow, 
but  very  wicked  and  profligate;  they  marched  di- 
rectly up  under  the  fire  of  their  ship  guns,  and  as 
soon     as    they    were    discovered,     the     Portuguese 


174  GREAT  PIRATE  STORIES 

quitted  their  post  and  fled  to  the  town,  and  the 
pirates  marched  in  without  opposition,  set  fire  to 
the  fort,  and  threw  all  the  guns  off  the  hill  into  the 
sea,  which  after  they  had  done  they  retreated  quietly 
to  their  ship. 

But  this  was  not  looked  upon  as  a  sufficient  sat- 
isfaction for  the  injury  they  received,  therefore  most 
of  the  company  were  for  burning  the  town,  which 
Roberts  said  he  would  yield  to  if  any  means  could  be 
proposed  of  doing  it  without  their  own  destruction, 
for  the  town  had  a  securer  situation  than  the  fort, 
a  thick  wood  coming  almost  close  to  it,  affording 
cover  to  the  defendants,  who,  under  such  an  ad- 
vantage, he  told  them,  it  was  to  be  feared,  would 
fire  and  stand  better  to  their  arms;  beside,  that  bare 
houses  would  be  but  a  slender  reward  for  their  trou- 
ble and  loss.  This  prudent  advice  prevailed;  how- 
ever, they  mounted  the  French  ship  they  seized  at 
this  place  with  twelve  guns,  and  lightened  her,  in 
order  to  come  up  to  the  town,  the  water  being  shoal, 
and  battered  down  several  houses;  after  which  they 
all  returned  on  board,  gave  back  the  French  ship  to 
those  that  had  most  right  to  her,  and  sailed  out  of 
the  harbor  by  the  light  of  two  Portuguese  ships, 
which  they  were  pleased  to  set  on  fire  there. 

Roberts  stood  away  to  the  southward,  and  met 
with  a  Dutch  Guineaman,  which  he  made  prize  of, 
but,  after  having  plundered  her,  the  skipper  had  his 
ship  again.  Two  days  after  he  took  an  English 
ship,    called   the   Experiment,    Captain    Cornet,    at 


THREE  NOTORIOUS  PIRATES      175 

Cape  Lopez;  the  men  went  all  into  the  pirate  service, 
and  having  no  occasion  for  the  ship  they  burnt  her 
and  then  steered  for  St.  Thome,  but  meeting  with 
nothing  in  their  way,  they  sailed  for  Annabona,  and 
there  watered,  took  in  provisions,  and  put  it  to  a 
vote  of  the  company  whether  their  next  voyage 
should  be  to  the  East  Indies  or  to  Brazil.  The  lat- 
ter being  resolved  on,  they  sailed  accordingly,  and  in 
twenty-eight  days  arrived  at  Ferdinando,  an  unin- 
habited island  on  that  coast.  Here  they  watered, 
boot-topped  t'heir  ship,  and  made  ready  for  the  de- 
signed cruise. 

Upon  this  coast  our  rovers  cruised  for  abaut  mne 
weeks,  keeping  generally  out  of  sight  of  land,  but 
without  seeing  a  sail,  which  discouraged  them  so 
that  they  determined  to  leave  the  station  and  steer 
for  the  West  Indies;  and,  in  order  thereto,  stood 
in  to  make  the  land  for  the  taking  of  their  depar- 
ture; and  thereby  they  fell  in  unexpectedly  with  a 
fleet  of  forty-two  sail  of  Portuguese  ships  off  the  bay 
of  Los  Todos  Santos,  with  all  their  lading  in,  for 
Lisbon,  several  of  them  of  good  force,  who  lay-to 
waiting  for  two  men-of-war  of  seventy  guns  each, 
their  convoy.  However,  Roberts  thought  it  should 
go  hard  with  him,  but  he  would  make  up  his  market 
among  them,  and  thereupon  mixed  with  the  fleet,  and 
kept  his  men  hid  till  proper  resolutions  could  be 
formed.  That  done,  they  came  close  up  to  one  of 
the  deepest,  and  ordered  her  to  send  the  master  on 
board  quietly,  threatening  to  give  them  no  quarter  if 


176  GREAT  PIRATF  STORIES 

any  resistance  or  signal  of  distress  was  made.  The 
Portuguese,  being  surprised  at  these  threats,  and  the 
sudden  flourish  of  cutlasses  from  the  pirates,  sub- 
mitted without  a  word,  and  the  captain  came  on 
board.  Roberts  saluted  him  after  a  friendly  man- 
ner telling  him  that  they  were  gentlemen  of  for- 
tune, but  that  their  business  with  him  was  only  to  be 
informed  which  was  the  richest  ship  in  that  fleet; 
and  if  he  directed  them  right  he  should  be  restored 
to  his  ship  without  molestation,  otherwise  he  must 
expect  immediate  death. 

Whereupon  this  Portuguese  master  pointed  to 
one  of  forty  guns  and  a  hundred  and  fifty  men,  a 
ship  of  greater  force  than  the  Rozer;'hut  this  no 
ways  dismayed  them;  they  were  Portuguese,  they 
said,  and  so  immediately  steered  away  for  him. 
When  they  came  within  hail,  the  master  whom  they 
had  prisoner  was  ordered  to  ask  "how  Seignior  Cap- 
tain did?"  and  to  invite  him  on  board,  "for  that  he 
had  a  matter  of  consequence  to  impart  to  him;" 
which  being  done,  he  returned  for  answer  that  "he 
would  wait  upon  him  presently,"  but  by  the  bustle 
that  immediately  followed,  the  pirates  perceived 
that  they  were  discovered,  and  that  this  was  only  a 
deceitful  answer  to  gain  time  to  put  their  ship  in  a 
posture  of  defense;  so  without  further  delay  they 
poured  in  a  broadside,  boarded,  and  grappled  her. 
The  dispute  was  short  and  warm,  wherein  many  of 
the  Portuguese  fell,  and  two  only  of  the  pirates.  By 
this  time  the  fleet  was  alarmed  :  signals  of  top-gallant 


THREE  NOTORIOUS  PIRATES      177 

sheets  flying  and  guns  fired  to  give  notice  to  the 
men-of-war,  who  rid  still  at  an  anchor,  and  made  but 
scurvy  haste  out  to  their  assistance;  and  if  what  the 
pirates  themselves  related  to  be  true,  the  comman- 
ders of  those  ships  were  blameable  to  the  highest 
degree,  and  unworthy  the  title,  or  so  much  as  the 
name,  of  men.  For  Roberts,  finding  the  prize  to 
sail  heavy,  and  yet  resolving  not  to  lose  her,  lay 
by  for  the  headmost  of  them,  which  much  outsailed 
the  other,  and  prepared  for  battle,  which  was  Igno- 
miniously  declined,  though  of  such  superior  force; 
for,  not  daring  to  venture  on  the  pirate  alone,  he 
tarried  so  long  for  his  consort  as  gave  them  both 
time  leisurely  to  make  off. 

They  found  this  ship  exceedingly  rich,  being 
laden  chiefly  with  sugar,  skins,  and  tobacco,  and  in 
gold  forty  thousand  moidores,  besides  chains  and 
trinkets  of  considerable  value;  particularly  a  cross 
set  with  diamonds  designed  for  the  king  of  Portu- 
gal, which  they  afterwards  presented  to  the  gov- 
ernor of  Caiana,  by  whom  they  were  obliged. 

Elated  with  this  booty,  they  had  nothing  now  to 
think  of  but  some  safe  retreat  where  they  might 
give  themselves  up  to  all  the  pleasures  that  luxury 
and  wantonness  could  bestow;  and  for  the  present 
pitched  upon  a  place  called  the  Devil's  Islands  in 
the  river  of  Surinam,  on  the  coast  of  Caiana,  where 
they  arrived,  and  found  the  civilest  reception  imagi- 
nable, not  only  from  the  governor  and  factory,  but 


178  GREAT  PIRATi:  STORIES 

their  wives,  who  cxchanpjed  wares,  and  (Irf)ve  a  con- 
sitierable  trade  with  them. 

They  seized  in  this  river  a  sloop,  and  by  her 
gained  inteUigence  that  a  brigantine  had  alscj  sailed 
in  company  with  her  from  Rhode  Island,  laden  with 
provisions  for  the  coast — a  welcome  cargo!  They 
growing  short  in  the  sea  store,  and,  as  Sancho  says, 
"No  adventures  to  be  made  without  belly-timber." 
One  evening,  as  they  were  rummaging  their  mine  of 
treasure,  the  Portuguese  prize,  this  expected  vessel 
was  descried  at  the  masthead,  and  Roberts,  imagin- 
ing nobody  could  do  the  business  so  well  as  him- 
self, takes  forty  men  in  the  sloop,  and  goes  in  pur- 
suit of  her;  but  a  fatal  accident  followed  this  rash, 
though  inconsiderable  adventure,  for  Roberts,  think- 
ing of  nothing  less  than  bringing  in  the  brigantine 
that  afternoon,  never  troubled  his  head  about  the 
sloop's  provision,  nor  inquired  what  there  was  on 
board  to  subsist  such  a  number  of  men;  but  out  he 
sails  after  his  expected  prize,  which  he  not  only  lost 
further  sight  of,  but  after  eight  days'  contending 
with  contrary  winds  and  currents,  found  themselves 
thirty  leagues  to  leeward.  The  current  still  oppos- 
ing their  endeavors,  and  perceiving  no  hopes  of  beat- 
ing up  to  their  ship,  they  came  to  an  anchor,  and  in- 
considerately sent  away  the  boat  to  give  the  rest  of 
the  company  notice  of  their  condition,  and  to  order 
the  ship  to  them;  but  too  soon — even  the  next  day 
— their  wants  made  them  sensible  of  their  infatua- 
tion,  for  their  water  was   all   expended,   and   they 


THREE  NOTORIOUS  PIRATES      179 

had  taken  no  thought  how  they  should  be  supplied 
till  either  the  ship  came  or  the  boat  returned,  which 
was  not  likely  to  be  under  five  or  six  days.  Here, 
like  Tantalus,  they  almost  famished  in  sight  of  the 
fresh  streams  and  lakes,  being  drove  to  such  ex- 
tremity at  last  that  they  were  forced  to  tear  up  the 
floor  of  the  cabin  and  patch  up  a  sort  of  tub  or  tray 
with  ropeyarns  to  paddle  ashore  and  fetch  off  imme- 
diate supplies  of  water  to  preserve  life. 

After  some  days  the  long-wished-for  boat  came 
back,  but  with  the  most  unwelcome  news  in  the 
world;  for  Kennedy,  who  was  lieutenant,  and  left, 
in  absence  of  Roberts,  to  command  the  privateer 
and  prize,  was  gone  off  with  both.  This  was  morti- 
fication with  a  vengeance,  and  you  may  imagine  they 
did  not  depart  without  some  hard  speeches  from 
those  that  were  left  and  had  suffered  by  their  treach- 
ery. And  that  there  need  be  no  further  mention  of 
this  Kennedy,  I  shall  leave  Captain  Roberts  to  vent 
his  wrath  in  a  few  oaths  and  execrations,  and  fol- 
low the  other,  whom  we  may  reckon  from  that  time 
as  steering  his  course  towards  Execution  Dock. 

Kennedy  was  now  chosen  captain  of  the  revolted 
crew,  but  could  not  bring  his  company  to  any  deter- 
mined resolution.  Some  of  them  were  for  pursuing 
the  old  game,  but  the  greater  part  of  them  seemed 
to  have  inclinations  to  turn  from  those  evil  courses, 
and  get  home  privately,  for  there  was  no  act  of 
pardon  in  force;  therefore  they  agreed  to  break  up, 
and  every  man  to  shift  for  himself,  as  he  should 


180  GREAT  PIRATE  STORIES 

sec  occasion.  The  first  thing  they  did  was  to  part 
with  tiic  great  Portuguese  prize,  and  having  the 
master  of  the  sloop  (whose  name,  I  think,  was 
Cane)  aboard,  who,  they  said,  was  a  very  honest 
fellow — for  he  had  humored  them  upon  every  occa- 
sion— told  them  of  the  brigantine  that  Roberts 
went  after;  and  when  the  pirates  first  took  him  he 
complimented  them  at  any  odd  rate,  telling  them 
they  were  welcome  to  his  sloop  and  cargo,  and 
wished  that  the  vessel  had  been  larger  and  the  load- 
ing richer  for  their  sakes.  To  this  good-natured  man 
they  gave  the  Portuguese  ship,  which  was  then  above 
half  loaded,  three  or  four  negroes,  and  all  his  own 
men,  who  returned  thanks  to  his  kind  benefactors, 
and  departed. 

Captain  Kennedy,  in  the  Rover,  sailed  to  Bar- 
badoes,  near  which  island  they  took  a  very  peace- 
able ship  belonging  to  Virginia.  The  commander 
was  a  Quaker,  whose  name  was  Knot;  he  had 
neither  pistol,  sword,  nor  cutlass  on  board;  and  Mr. 
Knot  appearing  so  very  passive  to  all  they  said  to 
him,  some  of  them  thought  this  a  good  opportunity 
to  go  off;  and  accordingly  eight  of  the  pirates  went 
aboard,  and  he  carried  them  safe  to  Virginia.  They 
made  the  Quaker  a  present  of  ten  chests  of  sugar, 
ten  rolls  of  Brazil  tobacco,  thirty  moidores,  and 
some  gold  dust,  in  all  to  the  value  of  about  £250. 
They  also  made  presents  to  the  sailors,  some  more, 
some  less,  and  lived  a  jovial  life  all  the  while  they 
were  upon  their  voyage,  Captain  Knot  giving  them 


THREE  NOTORIOUS  PIRATES      181 

their  way;  nor,  indeed,  could  he  help  himself,  unless 
he  had  taken  an  opportunity  to  surprise  them  when 
they  were  either  drunk  or  asleep,  for  awake  they 
wore  arms  aboard  the  ship  and  put  him  in  a  con- 
tinual terror,  it  not  being  his  principle  (or  the 
sect's)  to  fight,  unless  with  art  and  collusion.  He 
managed  these  weapons  well  till  he  arrived  at  the 
Capes;  and  afterwards  four  of  the  pirates  went  off 
in  a  boat,  which  they  had  taken  with  them  for  the 
more  easily  making  their  escapes,  and  made  up  the 
bay  towards  Maryland,  but  were  forced  back  by  a 
storm  into  an  obscure  place  of  the  country,  where, 
meeting  with  good  entertainment  among  the 
planters,  they  continued  several  days  without  being 
discovered  to  be  pirates.  In  the  meantime  Captain 
Knot,  leaving  four  others  on  board  his  ship  who  in- 
tended to  go  to  North  Carolina,  made  what  haste 
he  could  to  discover  to  Mr,  Spotswood,  the  gov- 
ernor, what  sort  of  passengers  he  had  been  forced 
to  bring  with  him,  who,  by  good  fortune,  got  them 
seized;  and  search  being  made  after  the  others,  who 
were  revelling  about  the  country,  they  were  also 
taken,  and  all  tried,  convicted,  and  hanged;  two 
Portuguese  Jews,  who  were  taken  on  the  coast  of 
Brazil  and  whom  they  brought  with  them  to  Vir- 
ginia, being  the  principal  evidences.  The  latter  had 
found  means  to  lodge  part  of  their  wealth  with  the 
planters,  who  never  brought  it  to  account.  But  Cap- 
tain Knot  surrendered  up  everything  that  belonged 
to  them  that  were  taken   aboard,  even  what  they 


182  r.RI'AT  I>IRATF-  STORIES 

presented  to  him,  In  lieu  of  such  things  as  they 
iiad  phinilcrcd  him  of  in  their  passage,  and  obliged 
liis  men  to  do  the  hkc. 

Some  days  after  the  taking  of  the  Virginiaman 
last  mentioned,  in  cruising  in  the  latitude  of 
Jamaica,  Kennedy  took  a  sloop  bound  thither  from 
Boston,  loaded  with  bread  and  flour;  aboard  of  this 
sloop  went  all  the  hands  who  were  for  breaking 
the  gang,  and  left  those  behind  that  had  a  mind  to 
pursue  further  adventures.  Among  the  former  was 
Kennedy,  their  captain,  of  whose  honor  they  had 
such  a  despicable  notion  that  they  were  about  to 
throw  him  overboard  when  they  found  him  in  the 
sloop,  as  fearing  he  might  betray  them  all  at  their 
return  to  England;  he  having  in  his  childhood  been 
bred  a  pick-pocket,  and  before  he  became  a  pirate  a 
house-breaker;  both  professions  that  these  gentle- 
men have  a  very  mean  opinion  of.  However,  Cap- 
tain Kennedy,  by  taking  solemn  oaths  of  fidelity  to 
his  companions,  was  suffered  to  proceed  with  them. 

In  this  company  there  was  but  one  that  pretended 
to  any  skill  in  navigation  (for  Kennedy  could 
neither  write  nor  read,  he  being  preferred  to  the 
command  merely  for  his  courage,  which  indeed  he 
had  often  signalized,  particularly  in  taking  the  Por- 
tuguese ship),  and  he  proved  to  be  a  pretender 
only;  for,  shaping  their  course  to  Ireland,  where 
they  agreed  to  land,  they  ran  away  to  the  north- 
west coast  of  Scotland,  and  there  were  tossed  about 
by  hard  storms  of  wind  for  several  days  without 


THREE  NOTORIOUS  PIRATES      183 

knowing  where  they  were,  and  in  great  danger  of 
perishing.  At  length  they  pushed  the  vessel  into  a 
little  creek  and  went  all  ashore,  leaving  the  sloop 
at  an  anchor  for  the  next  comers. 

The  whole  company  refreshed  themselves  at  a 
little  village  about  five  miles  from  the  place  where 
they  left  the  sloop,  and  passed  there  for  ship- 
wrecked sailors,  and  no  doubt  might  have  travelled 
on  without  suspicion,  but  the  mad  and  riotous  man- 
ner of  their  living  on  the  road  occasioned  their 
journey  to  be  cut  short,  as  we  shall  observe  pres- 
ently. 

Kennedy  and  another  left  them  here,  and,  trav- 
elling to  one  of  the  seaports,  shipped  themselves  for 
Ireland,  and  arrived  there  in  safety.  Six  or  seven 
wisely  withdrew  from  the  rest,  travelled  at  their 
leisure,  and  got  to  their  much-desired  port  of  Lon- 
don without  being  disturbed  or  suspected,  but  the 
main  gang  alarmed  the  country  wherever  they 
came,  drinking  and  roaring  at  such  a  rate  that  the 
people  shut  themselves  up  in  their  houses,  in  some 
places  not  daring  to  venture  out  among  so  many 
mad  fellows.  In  other  villages  they  treated  the 
whole  town,  squandering  their  money  away  as  if, 
like  ^sop,  they  wanted  to  lighten  their  burthens. 
This  expensive  manner  of  living  procured  two  of 
their  drunken  stragglers  to  be  knocked  on  the  head, 
they  being  found  murdered  in  the  road  and  their 
money  taken  from  them.  All  the  rest,  to  the  num- 
ber of  seventeen,  as  they  drew  nigh  to  Edinburgh, 


184  GREAT  PIRATE  STORIES 

were  arrested  and  thrown  into  gaol  upon  suspicion 
of  they  knew  not  what;  however,  the  magistrates 
were  not  long  at  a  loss  for  proper  accusations,  for 
two  of  the  gang  offering  themselves  for  evidences 
were  accepted  of,  and  the  others  were  brought  to  a 
speedy  trial,  whereof  nine  were  convicted  and  exe- 
cuted. 

Kennedy  having  spent  all  his  money,  came  over 
from  Ireland  and  kept  a  public-house  on  Deptford 
Road,  and  now  and  then  it  was  thought,  made  an 
excursion  abroad  in  the  way  of  his  former  profes- 
sion, till  one  of  his  household  gave  information 
against  him  for  a  robber>\  for  which  he  was  com- 
mitted to  Bridewell;  but  because  she  would  not  do 
the  business  by  halves  she  found  out  a  mate  of  a 
ship  that  Kennedy  had  committed  piraq.*  upon,  as 
he  foolishly  confessed  to  her.  This  mate,  whose 
name  was  Grant,  ^2id  Kennedy  a  \-isit  in  Bridewell, 
and  knowing  him  to  be  the  man,  procured  a  warrant, 
and  had  him  committed  to  the  Marshalsea  prison. 

The  game  that  Kennedy  had  now  to  play  was  to 
turn  evidence  himself;  accordingly  he  gave  a  list  of 
eight  or  ten  of  his  comrades,  but,  not  being  ac- 
quainted with  their  habitations,  one  only  was  taken, 
who,  though  condemned,  appeared  to  be  a  man  of  a 
fair  character,  was  forced  into  their  service,  and 
took  the  first  opportunity,"  to  get  from  them,  and 
therefore  received  a  pardon;  but  Walter  Kennedy, 
being  a  notorious  offender,  was  executed  July  19, 
1 72 1,  at  Execution  Dock. 


THREE  NOTORIOUS  PIR.\TES      185 

The  rest  of  the  pirates  who  were  left  in  the  ship 
Rozer  stayed  not  long  behind,  for  they  went  ashore 
to  one  of  the  West  India  islands.  What  became  of 
them  afterwards  I  cannot  tell,  but  the  ship  was 
found  at  sea  by  a  sloop  belonging  to  5"/.  Chris- 
tophers, and  carried  into  that  island  with  only  nine 
negroes  aboard. 

Thus  we  see  what  a  disastrous  fate  ever  attends 
the  wicked,  and  how  rarely  they  escape  the  punish- 
ment due  to  their  crimes,  who,  abandoned  to  such 
a  profligate  life,  rob,  spoil,  and  prey  upon  mankind, 
contrary  to  the  light  and  law  of  nature,  as  well  as 
the  law  of  God.  It  might  have  been  hoped  that 
the  exam.ples  of  these  deaths  would  have  been  as 
marks  to  the  remainder  of  this  gang,  how  to  shun 
the  rocks  their  companions  had  split  on;  that  they 
would  have  surrendered  to  mercy,  or  divided  them- 
selves for  ever  from  such  pursuits,  as  in  the  end 
they  might  be  sure  would  subject  them  to  the  same 
law  and  punishment,  which  they  must  be  conscious 
they  now  equally  deserved;  impending  law,  which 
never  let  them  sleep  well  unless  when  drunk.  But  all 
the  use  that  was  made  of  it  here,  was  to  commend 
the  justice  of  the  court  that  condemned  Kennedy,  for 
he  was  a  sad  dog,  they  said,  and  deserved  the  fate 
he  met  with. 

But  to  go  back  to  Roberts,  whom  we  left  on  the 
coast  of  Caiana,  in  a  grievous  passion  at  what 
Kennedy  and  the  crew  had  done,  and  who  was  now 
projecting  new  adventures  with  his  small  company 


186        gri-:at  pi  rati-  stortfs 

in  the  sloop;  but  findinj^  hitherto  they  had  been  but 
as  a  rope  of  sand,  they  formed  a  set  of  articles  to 
be  signed  ami  sworn  to  for  the  better  conservation 
of  their  society,  and  doing  justice  to  one  anotfier,  ex- 
cluding all  Irishmen  from  the  benefit  of  it,  to  whom 
they  had  an  implacable  aversion  upon  the  account  of 
Kennedy.  How,  indeed,  Roberts  could  think  that 
an  oath  would  be  obligatory  where  defiance  had 
been  given  to  the  laws  of  God  and  man,  I  cannot 
tell,  but  he  thought  their  greatest  security  lay  in 
this — "that  it  was  every  one's  interest  to  observe 
them,  if  they  minded  to  keep  up  so  abominable  a 
combination." 

The  following  is  the  substance  of  articles  as  taken 
from  the  pirates  own  informations: — 

I 

Every  man  has  a  vote  in  affairs  of  moment,  has 
equal  title  to  the  fresh  provisions  or  strong  liquors 
at  any  time  seized,  and  may  use  them  at  pleasure, 
unless  a  scarcity  (no  uncommon  thing  among  them) 
make  it  necessary  for  the  good  of  all  to  vote  a  re- 
trenchment. 

II 

Every  man  to  be  called  fairly  in  turn  by  list,  on 
board  of  prizes,  because,  over  and  above  their 
proper  share,  they  were  on  these  occasions  allowed  a 
shift  of  clothes.  But  if  they  defrauded  the  com- 
pany to  the  value  of  a  dollar,  in  plate,  jewels,  or 
money,   marooning  was   their   punishment.      (This 


THREE  NOTORIOUS  PIRATES      187 

was  a  barbarous  custom  of  putting  the  offender  on 
shore,  on  some  desolate  or  uninhabited  cape  or 
island,  with  a  gun,  a  few  shot,  a  bottle  of  water,  a 
bottle  of  powder,  to  subsist  with  or  starve.)  If  the 
robbery  was  only  between  one  another,  they  con- 
tented themselves  with  slitting  the  ears  and  nose  of 
him  that  was  guilty,  and  set  him  on  shore,  not  in  an 
uninhabited  place,  but  somewhere  where  he  was 
sure  to  encounter  hardships. 

Ill 
No  person  to  game  at  cards  or  dice  for  money. 

IV 

The  lights  and  candles  to  be  put  out  at  eight 
o'clock  at  night.  If  any  of  the  crew  after  that  hour 
still  remained  inclined  for  drinking,  they  were  to  do 
it  on  the  open  deck.  (Which  Roberts  believed 
would  give  a  check  to  their  debauches,  for  he  was 
a  sober  man  himself,  but  found  at  length  that  all 
his  endeavors  to  put  an  end  to  this  debauch  proved 
ineffectual.) 

V 
To  keep  their  piece,  pistols,  and  cutlass  clean,  and 
fit  for  service.  (In  this  they  were  extravagantly 
nice,  endeavoring  to  outdo  one  another  in  the  beauty 
and  richness  of  their  arms,  giving  sometimes  at  an 
auction — at  the  mast — £30  or  £40  a  pair  for  pistols. 
These  were  slung  in  time  of  service,  with  different 
colored  ribbons,  over  their  shoulders,  in  a  way  pecu- 
Har  to  these  fellows,  in  which  they  took  great  de- 
light.) 


188  GREAT  PIRATE  STORIES 

VI 

No  l)()y  or  woman  to  be  allowed  amongst  them. 
If  any  man  were  found  seducing  any  of  the  latter 
sex,  and  carried  her  to  sea  disguised,  he  was  to  suf- 
fer death.  (So  that  when  any  fell  into  their  hands, 
as  it  chanced  in  the  Onslow,  they  put  a  sentinel 
immediately  over  her  to  prevent  ill  consequences 
from  so  dangerous  an  instrument  of  division  and 
quarrel;  but  then  here  lies  the  roguery — they  con- 
tend who  shall  be  sentinel,  which  happens  generally 
to  one  of  the  greatest  bullies. 

VII 

To  desert  the  ship  or  their  quarters  in  battle,  was 
punished  with  death  or  marooning. 

VIII 
No  striking  one  another  on  board,  but  every 
man's  quarrel  to  be  ended  on  shore,  at  sword  and 
pistol.  Thus  the  quartermaster  of  the  ship,  when 
the  parties  will  not  come  to  any  reconciliation,  ac- 
companies them  on  shore  with  what  assistance  he 
thinks  proper,  and  turns  the  disputants  back  to  back 
at  so  many  paces  distance.  At  the  word  of  com- 
mand they  turn  and  fire  immediately,  or  else  the 
piece  is  knocked  out  of  their  hands.  If  both  miss, 
they  come  to  their  cutlasses,  and  then  he  is  declared 
victor  who  draws  the  first  blood. 

IX 
No  man  to  talk  of  breaking  up  their  way  of  liv- 
ing till  each  had  shared  £i,ooo.    If,  in  order  to  this, 


THREE  NOTORIOUS  PIRATES      189 

any  man  should  lose  a  limb,  or  become  a  cripple  in 
their  service,  he  was  to  have  800  dollars  out  of  the 
public  stock,  and  for  lesser  hurts  proportionably. 

X 

The  captain  and  quartermaster  to  receive  two 
shares  of  a  prize;  the  master,  boatswain,  and  gun- 
ner, one  share  and  a  half,  the  other  officers  one  and 

a  quarter. 

XI 

The  musicians  to  have  rest  on  the  Sabbath-day, 
but  the  other  six  days  and  nights  none  without  spe- 
cial favor. 

These,  we  are  assured,  were  some  of  Roberts's 
articles,  but  as  they  had  taken  care  to  throw  over- 
board the  original  they  had  signed  and  sworn  to, 
there  is  a  great  deal  of  room  to  suspect  the  re- 
mainder contained  something  too  horrid  to  be  dis- 
closed to  any,  except  such  as  were  willing  to  be 
sharers  In  the  Iniqult}^  of  them.  Let  them  be  what 
they  will,  they  were  together  the  test  of  all  new- 
comers, who  were  initiated  by  an  oath  taken  on  a 
Bible,  reserved  for  that  purpose  only,  and  were  sub- 
scribed to  in  presence  of  the  worshipful  Mr.  Rob- 
erts. And  In  case  any  doubt  should  arise  concern- 
ing the  construction  of  these  laws,  and  It  should  re- 
main a  dispute  whether  the  party  had  infringed 
them  or  no,  a  jury  was  appointed  to  explain  them, 
and  bring  in  a  verdict  upon  the  case  in  doubt. 

Since  we  are  now  speaking  of  the  laws  of  this 


190        c;ri:at  pirate  stories 

company,  f  shall  j^o  on,  and,  in  as  brief  a  manner 
as  I  can,  relate  the  principal  customs  and  govern- 
ment of  this  roguish  commonwealtn,  which  are 
pretty  near  the  same  with  all  pirates. 

I'V)r  the  punishment  of  small  offences  which  are 
not  pro\icIc(l  for  hy  the  articles,  and  which  are  not 
of  consequence  enough  to  be  left  to  a  jury,  there 
is  a  principal  officer  among  the  pirates,  called  the 
quartermaster,  of  the  men's  own  choosing,  who 
claims  all  authority  this  way,  excepting  in  time  of 
battle.  If  they  disobey  his  command,  are  quarrel- 
some and  mutinous  with  one  another,  misuse  pris- 
oners, plunder  beyond  his  order,  and  in  particular, 
if  they  be  negligent  of  their  arms,  which  he  musters 
at  discretion,  he  punishes  at  his  own  arbitrament, 
with  drubbing  or  whipping,  which  no  one  else  dare 
do  without  incurring  the  lash  from  all  the  ship's 
company.  In  short,  this  officer  is  trustee  for  the 
whole,  is  the  first  on  board  any  prize,  separating 
for  the  company's  use  what  he  pleases,  and  return- 
ing what  he  thinks  fit  to  the  owners,  exceping  gold 
and  silver,  which  they  have  voted  not  returnable. 

After  a  description  of  the  quartermaster  and  his 
duty,  who  acts  as  a  sort  of  civil  magistrate  on  board 
a  pirate  ship,  I  shall  consider  their  military  officer, 
the  captain;  what  privileges  he  exerts  in  such 
anarchy  and  unruliness  of  the  members.  Why, 
truly  very  little — they  only  permit  him  to  be  cap- 
tain, on  condition  that  they  may  be  captain  over 
him;  they  separate  to  his  use  the  great  cabin,  and 


THREE  NOTORIOUS  PIRATES      191 

sometimes  vote  him  small  parcels  of  plate  and 
china  (for  it  may  be  noted  that  Roberts  drank  his 
tea  constantly),  but  then  every  man,  as  the  humor 
takes  him,  will  use  the  plate  and  china,  intrude  into 
his  apartment,  swear  at  him,  seize  a  part  of  his 
victuals  and  drink,  if  they  like  it,  without  his  offer- 
ing to  find  fault  or  contest  it.  Yet  Roberts,  by  a 
better  management  than  usual,  became  the  chief  di- 
rector in  everything  of  moment;  and  it  happened 
thus : — The  rank  of  captain  being  obtained  by  the 
suffrage  of  the  majority,  it  falls  on  one  superior  for 
knowledge  and  boldness — pistol  proof,  as  they  call 
it — who  can  make  those  fear  who  do  not  love  him. 
Roberts  is  said  to  have  exceeded  his  fellows  in  these 
respects,  and  when  advanced,  enlarged  the  respect 
that  followed  it  by  making  a  sort  of  privy  council 
of  half  a  dozen  of  the  greatest  bullies,  such  as  were 
his  competitors,  and  had  interest  enough  to  make  his 
government  easy;  yet  even  those,  in  the  latter  part 
of  his  reign,  he  had  run  counter  to  in  every  project 
that  opposed  his  own  opinion;  for  which,  and  be- 
cause he  grew  reserved  and  would  not  drink  and 
roar  at  their  rate,  a  cabal  was  formed  to  take  away 
his  captainship,  which  death  did  more  effectually. 

The  captain's  power  is  uncontrollable  in  chase  or 
in  battle,  drubbing,  cutting,  or  even  shooting  any 
one  who  dares  deny  his  command.  The  same  privi- 
lege he  takes  over  prisoners,  who  receive  good  or  ill 
usage  mostly  as  he  approves  of  their  behavior,  for 
though  the  meanest  would  take  upon  them  to  mis- 


192  GREAT  PIRAri:  STORIES 

use  a  master  of  a  ship,  yet  he  would  control  herein 
when  he  sees  it,  and  merrily  over  a  bottle  give  his 
prisoners  this  cloul)le  reason  for  it:  first,  that  it  pre- 
served ills  precedence;  antl  secondly,  that  it  took  the 
punishment  out  of  the  hands  of  a  much  more  rash 
and  mad  set  of  fellows  than  himself.  When  he 
found  that  rigor  was  not  expected  from  his  people 
(for  he  often  practiced  it  to  appease  them),  then 
he  would  give  strangers  to  understand  that  it  was 
pure  inclination  that  induced  him  to  a  good  treat- 
ment of  them,  and  not  any  love  or  partiality  to  their 
persons;  for,  says  he,  "there  is  none  of  you  but  will 
hang  me,  I  know,  whenever  you  can  clinch  me  within 
your  power." 

And  now,  seeing  the  disadvantages  they  were  un- 
der for  pursuing  their  plans,  viz.,  a  small  vessel  ill 
repaired,  and  without  provisions  or  stores,  they  re- 
solved, one  and  all,  with  the  little  supplies  they 
could  get,  to  proceed  for  the  West  Indies,  not 
doubting  to  find  a  remedy  for  all  these  evils  and  to 
retrieve  their  loss. 

In  the  latitude  of  Deseada,  one  of  the  islands, 
they  took  two  sloops,  which  supplied  them  with  pro- 
visions and  other  necessaries,  and  a  few  days  after- 
wards took  a  brigantine  belonging  to  Rhode  Island, 
and  then  proceeded  to  Barbadoes,  off  of  which 
island  they  fell  in  with  a  Bristol  ship  of  ten  guns, 
in  her  voyage  out,  from  whom  they  took  abundance 
of  clothes,  some  money,  twenty-five  bales  of  goods, 


THREE  NOTORIOUS  PIRATES      193 

five  barrels  of  powder,  a  cable,  hawser,  ten  casks  of 
oatmeal,  six  casks  of  beef,  and  several  other  goods, 
besides  five  of  their  men;  and  after  they  had  de- 
tained her  three  days  let  her  go,  who,  being  bound 
for  the  aforesaid  island,  she  acquainted  the  gov- 
ernor with  what  had  happened  as  soon  as  she  ar- 
rived. 

Whereupon  a  Bristol  galley  that  lay  In  the  har- 
bor was  ordered  to  be  fitted  out  with  all  imagi- 
nable expedition,  of  20  guns  and  80  men,  there  being 
then  no  man-of-war  upon  that  station,  and  also  a 
sloop  with  10  guns  and  40  men.  The  galley  was 
commanded  by  one  Captain  Rogers,  of  Bristol,  and 
the  sloop  by  Captain  Graves,  of  that  island,  and 
Captain  Rogers,  by  a  commission  from  the  gover- 
nor, was  appointed  commodore. 

The  second  day  after  Rogers  sailed  out  of  the 
harbor  he  was  discovered  by  Roberts,  who,  know- 
ing nothing  of  their  design,  gave  them  chase.  The 
Barbadoes  ships  kept  an  easy  sail  till  the  pirates 
came  up  with  them,  and  then  Roberts  gave  them  a 
gun,  expecting  they  would  have  immediately  struck 
to  his  piratical  flag;  but  instead  thereof,  he  was 
forced  to  receive  the  fire  of  a  broadside,  with  three 
huzzas  at  the  same  time,  so  that  an  engagement  en- 
sued; but  Roberts,  being  hardly  put  to  it,  was 
obliged  to  crowd  all  the  sail  the  sloop  would  bear 
to  get  oft.  The  galley,  sailing  pretty  well,  kept  com- 
pany for  a  long  while,  keeping  a  constant  fire,  which 
galled  the  pirate;  however,  at  length,  by  throwing 


194  GREAT  PIRATE  STORIES 

over  their  j^ns  and  other  heavy  goods,  and  thereby 
lightening  the  vessel,  they,  with  much  ado,  got  clear; 
hut  Roberts  could  never  endure  a  Barbadoes  man 
afterwards,  and  when  any  ships  belonging  to  that 
island  fell  in  his  way,  he  was  more  particularly 
severe  to  them  than  others. 

Captam  Roberts  sailed  In  the  sloop  to  the  island 
of  Dominico,  where  he  watered  and  got  provisions 
of  the  inhabitants,  to  whom  he  gave  goods  in  ex- 
change. At  this  place  he  met  with  thirteen  English- 
men, who  had  been  set  ashore  by  a  French  Guard 
de  la  Coste,  belonging  to  Martinico,  taken  out  of 
two  New  England  ships  that  had  been  seized  as 
prizes  by  the  said  French  sloop.  The  men  willingly 
entered  with  the  pirates,  and  it  proved  a  seasonable 
recruiting. 

They  stayed  not  long  here,  though  they  had  im- 
mediate occasion  for  cleaning  their  sloop,  but  did 
not  think  this  a  proper  place;  and  herein  they  judged 
right,  for  the  touching  at  this  island  had  like  to 
have  been  their  destruction,  because  they,  having 
resolved  to  go  away  to  the  Granada  Islands  for  the 
aforesaid  purpose,  by  some  accident  it  came  to  be 
known  to  the  French  colony,  who,  sending  word  to 
the  governor  of  Martinico,  he  equipped  and  manned 
two  sloops  to  go  in  quest  of  them.  The  pirates 
sailed  directly  for  the  GranadlUoes,  and  hall'd  into 
a  lagoon  at  Corvocoo,  where  they  cleaned  with  un- 
usual dispatch,  staying  but  a  little  above  a  week,  by 
which    expedition    they    missed    of    the    Martinico 


THREE  NOTORIOUS  PIRATES      195 

sloops  only  a  few  hours,  Roberts  sailing  overnight 
and  the  French  arriving  the  next  morning.  This 
was  a  fortunate  escape,  especially  considering  that 
it  was  not  from  any  fears  of  their  being  discovered 
that  they  made  so  much  haste  from  the  island,  but, 
as  they  had  the  impudence  themselves  to  own,  for 
the  want  of  wine  and  women. 

Thus  narrowly  escaped,  they  sailed  for  New- 
foundland, and  arrived  upon  the  banks  the  latter 
end  of  June,  1720.  They  entered  the  harbor  of 
Trepassi  with  their  black  colors  flying,  drums  beat- 
ing, and  trumpets  sounding.  There  were  two-and- 
twenty  vessels  in  the  harbor,  which  the  men  all 
quitted  upon  the  sight  of  the  pirate,  and  fled  ashore. 
It  is  impossible  particularly  to  recount  the  destruc- 
tion and  havoc  they  made  here,  burning  and  sink- 
ing all  the  shipping  except  a  Bristol  galley,  and  de- 
stroying the  fisheries  and  stages  of  the  poor  planters 
without  remorse  or  compunction;  for  nothing  is  so 
deplorable  as  power  in  mean  and  ignorant  hands — 
it  makes  men  wanton  and  giddy,  unconcerned  at  the 
misfortunes  they  are  Imposing  on  their  fellow-crea- 
tures, and  keeps  them  smiling  at  the  mischiefs  that 
bring  themselves  no  advantage.  They  are  like  mad- 
men that  cast  fire-brands,  arrows,  and  death,  and 
say,  Are  not  we  in  sport? 


NARRATIVE  OF  TUK  CAPTURE  OF  THE 
SHIP  DERBY,  1735 

Captain  Anselm 

I  FELL  in  with  the  Land  of  Madagascar,  the 
Latitude  of  about  24  Degrees,  13  Minutes 
North:  And  some  time  before  I  had  made  it, 
I  met  with  nothing  but  light  Airs  of  Winds,  and 
Calms,  and  continued  so  long.  My  People  drop- 
ping down  with  the  Scurvy,  I  took  a  small  Still  that 
I  had,  and  distill'd  Salt  Water  into  Fresh.  I  al- 
low'd  them  as  much  Pease  and  Flower  as  they  could 
eat,  that  they  might  not  eat  any  Salt  Provision,  tho' 
I  boil'd  it  in  fresh  Water.  I  had  been  very  liberal 
with  my  fresh  Provision  in  my  Passage,  to  my 
People,  and  the  Passage  so  long,  that  I  had  hardly 
any  left,  and  that  only  a  few  Fowls;  and  myself  and 
Officers  too  had  been  much  out  of  Order.  At  last, 
being  got  to  the  Northward  of  Augustin  Bay,  seeing 
my  poor  People  fall  down  so  very  fast,  it  gave  me 
very  great  Concern  for  them,  but  still  was  willing, 
in  Hopes  of  Change  of  Wind,  for  Johanna.  But  the 
small  Airs  trifled  with  me,  and  what  there  were 
Northerly,  a  Current  setting  to  the  Southward,  that 
what  to  do  I  could  not  well  tell.  To  go  into  Angus- 
tin  Bay  I  was  very  unwilling:  I  had  two  Boats  came 

196 


NARRATIVE  OF  THE  SHIP  DERBY    197 

off  to  me,  the  People  talking  tolerable  good  English. 
At  last,  my  Doctor,  Sharp,  told  me  there  were 
above  Thirty  People  down  with  the  Scurvy,  and  all 
the  rest,  even  some  of  the  Petty  Officers,  were 
touch'd  with  the  same.  If  I  did  not  soon  put  into 
Port,  I  plainly  found  I  should  have  been  in  a  bad 
Condition,  for  Men;  I  consulted  with  my  Officers, 
to  go  into  Atigustin  Bay,  and  we  agreed,  and  bore 
away  for  it.  Soon  after,  the  Wind  came  Southerly, 
and  I  bore  away  for  Johanna.  A  fine  Passage  I 
had,  and  anchor'd  the  next  Day  about  Four 
in  the  Afternoon,  being  Sept.  13.  I  thank  God 
I  brought  all  my  People  in  alive,  and  that  is  as  much 
I  can  say  of  a  good  many  of  them.  I  had  a 
Tent  made  ashore  for  them,  and  supplied  them  all 
that  ever  I  could,  and  the  Doctors  assisting  with 
every  thing  in  their  Way  for  their  speedy  Recov- 
ery. After  I  had  been  here  a  Fortnight,  the  Winds 
in  the  Day-time  set  in  very  fresh  from  the  N.  N.  W. 
to  the  N.  N.  E.  Finding  the  People  recover  so  very 
slowly,  what  to  do  I  could  not  tell.  To  go  out  with 
my  People  as  bad  as  when  they  came  in,  I  was  not 
willing,  but  resolv'd  to  have  Patience  one  Week 
more.  I  consulted  with  Mr.  Rogers,  my  Chief- 
Mate,  and  told  him  that  we  must  consider  the  Con- 
dition of  the  People,  and  how  we  met  the  Winds  and 
Currents  before  we  came  in.  The  People  of  the 
Island  told  me,  that  this  was  about  the  time  of  Year 
for  the  Northerly  Winds  and  Southerly  Currents, 
and  I  told  him  I  thought  it  better  to  trim  all  our 


198        gri:at  pirate  stories 

Casks,  and  fill  what  Water  wc  could,  fearing  of  a 
long  Passage,  if  our  Stay  was  a  little  longer.  Mr. 
Rogers  was  of  my  Opinion.  This  I  must  say,  I 
found  the  Cask  not  so  well  used  in  the  I  lold,  as  they 
ought  to  have  been,  which  caus'd  the  Coopers  more 
Work;  neither  did  I  make  a  little  Noise  about  it,  be- 
cause I  had  more  Words  with  my  Chief  and  Sec- 
ond Mate,  about  my  Third  and  Fourth  Mate,  than 
any  thing  else. 

Having  all  my  Water  aboard,  about  80  Tun,  25 
Head  of  Oxen,  i^c,  I  sail'd  the  13th  of  October, 
with  several  of  my  Men  not  recover'd;  some  I 
buried  at  Johanna,  and  some  after,  to  the  Number 
of  Ten,  or  thereabouts.  Having  a  fine  Gale,  I  made 
all  the  Sail  I  could,  except  Studding-sails,  which  I 
thought  needless.  The  Wind  veer'd  to  the  North- 
ward, and  I  was  resolved  to  make  the  Mallabar 
Course  as  soon  as  possible,  for  the  Advantage 
of  the  Land  and  Sea  Winds.  I  had  one  Pas- 
senger aboard,  a  sad  troublesome  wicked  Fellow, 
whose  Behaviour  was  so  bad,  that  I  could  hardly 
forbear  using  him  ill.     I  forbid  my  Officers  keeping 

Company  with  him;  but  Mr.  B s  would  do  it  at 

all  Events.  I  turn'd  him  once  off  the  Quarter-Deck 
for  being  with  him  there,  yet  that  did  not  avail.  I 
came  out  one  Night  about  half  an  Hour  past  Ten, 

my  second  Mate's  Watch,  and  this  B s' s  Turn 

to  sleep;  and  seeing  a  Light  in  his  Cabin,  I  sent  Mr. 
Cuddon,  the  second  Mate,  to  him,  to  know  how  he 
would  be  able  to  sit  up  one  Watch,   and  keep  his 


NARRATIVE  OF  THE  SHIP  DERBY    199 

own.      Upon   this  B 5   came   up   half  way   the 

Steerage-Ladder,  with  his  Pipe  in  his  Hand,  and 
talk'd  to  me  very  pertly;  and  that  was  not  the  first 
time.  This  put  me  into  a  Passion,  to  be  so  talk'd 
to  by  a  Boy,  that  I  did  dismiss  him  for  two  or  three 
Days,  and  then  re-stated  him,  which  was  more  than 
he  deserv'd,  for  keeping  Company  with  him  for 
whom  the  the  worst  of  Names  is  good  enough,  and 
those  who  recommended  him  to  his  Commission. 
B s  was  told  of  this  by  Mr.  Rogers,  by  my  Or- 
ders, and  I  told  him  of  it  on  the  Quarter-Deck,  and 
told  him  at  the  same  time  I  was  resolv'd  to  tell  the 

Gentlemen  at  Home  of ;  and  ask'd  him  what  he 

imagin'd  they  would  think  of  him  for  keeping  such 
swearing  drunken  Company.  This  was  before  I  dis- 
miss'd  him. 

Before  I  came  in  with  the  Land,  hearing  much 
talk  of  Anuria,*  by  Capt.  Scarlet,  and  Mr.  Rogers, 
and  of  his  great  Force  (for  I  had  very  little  No- 
tion of  him  before)  I  took  care  to  put  the  Ship  in  a 
proper  Posture  of  Defence:  Powder-Chests  on  the 
Quarter-Deck,  Poop,  and  Forecastle,  a  Puncheon 
fill'd  with  Water  in  the  Main-top,  a  Hogshead  in 
the  Fore-top,  and  a  Barrel  in  the  Mizen-top,  all 
fiU'd  with  Water:  Chests  with  good  Coverings  in 
the  Tops  for  Grenado-Shells;  all  the  small  Arms, 
with  50  new  ones  in  Readiness.  My  Ship  being  too 
deep  to  get  the  Gun-room  Ports  open,  as  the  Gun- 
ner inform'd  me,   the  Ship  sending,   and  the   Sea 

*  A  noted  pirate. 


200        grilAT  pirate  stories 

washing  above  the  Tops  of  the  Ports;  I  got  those 
Guns  into  the  Great  Cabin;  Quartcr-Bills  over  the 
Guns;  the  Rewards  and  Close-quarters,  &c.  at 
the  Mi/.en-mast,  Shot-lockers  and  Shot  in  their 
proper  Station;  Plug^s  for  Shot-holes;  and  every 
thing  that  I  could  think  of:  and  gave  particular  Or- 
ders to  my  Gunner,  Carpenter,  and  Boatswain,  to 
have  every  thing  in  their  way,  in  Readiness,  the  two 
lower  Yards  flung  with  the  Top-chains.  Not  being 
easy  in  my  Mind  about  these  Gun-room  Stern-Ports, 
I  sent  Mr.  Rogers,  it  being  smooth  Water,  to  open 
one  of  the  Gun-room  Stern-Ports,  to  see,  if  we  could, 
on  Occasion,  get  Guns  out  there,  but  he  brought  me 
Word  it  could  not  be  done  with  Safety,  the  Ship 
being  so  deep.  A  few  Days  before  I  made  the 
Land,  the  Winds  used  to  vere  and  haul,  that  Offing 
in  an  Hour  I  could  hardly  up  from  E.  N.  E.  to  S.  E. 
but  the  Winds  chiefly  kept  to  the  Northward.  I 
was  very  desirous  to  make  the  Land,  not  knowing 
how  far  the  Southwest  Currents  might  set  me  to  the 
Westward.  At  noon,  being  Dec.  12.  I  made  the 
Land  of  Goa,  in  the  Latitude  of  15  Degrees  North. 
My  Chief  Mate  wanted  me  to  go  into  Goa,  but  I 
was  resolved  not,  but  to  make  the  best  of  my  Way 
for  Bombay.  The  next  Morning,  having  a  fine  Six- 
Knot-Gale,  about  Nine  o'  Clock  Mr.  Rogers  told 
me,  he  saw  Gereah,  and  desired  me  to  haul  further 
off  Shore,  and  said,  if  Angria  and  his  Grabbs  should 
see  us  in  his  River,  he  would  send  them  out  after 
us.     I  asked  him,  if  his  Grabbs  came  out  of  Sight 


NARRATIVE  OF  THE  SHIP  DERBY   201 

of  Land.  He  told  me  they  were  afraid  to  do  that, 
fearing  the  Bombay  Vessels  should  get  between 
them  and  the  Shore,  and  keep  them  out  of  their 
Ports.  To  prevent  running  into  Danger,  I  kept  out 
of  Sight  of  Land:  I  thought  it  better  to  do  so,  since 
it  would  make  but  a  few  Days  Difference  in  getting 
at  Bombay;  making  no  Doubt  I  should  get  there 
the  last  of  the  Month,  as  doubtless  we  should,  if  we 
had  not  met  with  our  sad  Misfortune. 

When  it  was  too  late,  I  was  acquainted  by  those 
taken  in  the  Severn,  that  Mr.  Rogers  inform'd  me 
wrong;  for  Angria  sometimes  keeps  the  Shore 
aboard,  and  sometimes  goes  directly  out  to  Sea  60 
Leagues  off.  It  was  too  late  to  reflect;  neither 
could  I  blame  myself,  knowing  I  had  done  every 
thing  to  the  best  of  my  Judgment:  But  had  I  been 
better  inform'd,  it  is  my  Opinion  we  might  have 
escaped  those  cursed  Dogs,  by  keeping  in  Shore, 
and  taken  the  Advantage  of  the  Land  and  Sea 
Winds. 

I  have  since  repented  that  we  did  not  go  into 
Goa;  but  God  knows  whether  a  a  Man  goes  too  fast 
or  too  slow;  for  I  had  certainly  a  very  suitable 
Cargo  for  that  Place;  But  my  earnest  Desire  was  to 
get  to  Bombay,  the  Season  of  the  Year  being  far 
advanc'd. 

Decetnber  26.  being  my  second  Mate's  Morning 
Watch,  about  Five  o'Clock  he  came  to  me,  and  told 
me  he  saw  Nine  Sail  of  Gallivats.  I  got  up,  and 
found  them  to  be  Five  Top-mast  Vessels,  and  Four 


202  GREAT  PIRAIE  STORIES 

Gallivats,  not  above  two  Miles  from  us.  I  order'd 
all  1  lantls  to  be  call'd,  and  down  with  the  Cabins  in 
the  Steerage,  which  was  done  in  an  Instant,  and 
every  body  to  their  respective  Quarters.  They  came 
up  with  us  apace,  having  but  light  Airs  of  Winds, 
and  found  them  to  be  Anyria's  Fleet.  I  had  the 
Transome  in  the  great  Cabin,  and  the  Balcony  in 
the  Round-house  cut  away,  for  traversing  the  Stern- 
Chase  Guns.  rhey  came  up  with  me  very  boldly 
within  Pistol-shot.  Before  Six,  they  began  firing 
upon  us,  throwing  their  Shot  in  at  our  Stern,  raking 
us  afore  and  aft.  I  order'd  everything  to  be  got 
ready  for  going  about,  to  give  them  my  Broad-side, 
when  my  Chief-Mate  Mr.  Rogers,  and  my  Third 
Mate  Mr.  Burroughs  came  to  me,  and  begg'd  that 
I  would  not  put  about,  for  if  I  did,  they  would  cer- 
tainly board  us.  As  to  my  Part,  being  a  Stranger  to 
this  Coast  and  Angria,  knowing  my  Chief  Mate  had 
been  often  this  Way,  and  my  Third  Mate  had  sail'd 
in  the  Gallies,  I  was  over  prevail'd  upon  not  to  tack 
about.  As  the  Enemy  kept  under  my  Stern,  play- 
ing their  Shot  in  very  hot  upon  us,  and  destroying 
my  Rigging  so  fast,  I  soon  after  endeavour'd  to 
wear  the  Ship  upon  the  Enemy;  but  the  Wind  dying 
away  to  a  Calm,  she  would  not  regard  her  Helm, 
but  lay  like  a  Log  in  the  Water.  By  Eight  o'Clock 
most  of  my  Rigging  was  destroy'd,  and  the  Long- 
boat taking  Fire  a-stern,  was  forc'd  to  cut  her  away. 
The  Yaul  being  stove  by  their  shot,  we  launch'd  her 
overboard.     By  Nine,  the  Top-chain  that  flung  the 


NARRATIVE  OF  THE  SHIP  DERBY   203 

Main-yard,  was  shot  away,  with  Geer  and  Geer- 
Blocks.  The  Main-yard  came  next  down,  with  the 
Sails  almost  torn  to  Pieces  with  the  Shot.  As  fast 
as  our  People  knotted  and  spliced  the  Rigging,  it 
was  shot  away  in  their  Hands.  The  Water-Tubs  in 
the  Tops  were  shot  to  pieces,  and  the  Boat- 
swain's Mate's  Leg  shot  off  in  the  Main-top.  One 
of  the  Foremast-Mens  Leg  was  shot  off  in  the  Fore- 
top,  and  one  wounded.  By  Ten,  the  Mizen-mast 
was  shot  by  the  Board.  Wanting  People  to  cut  the 
Mast-Rigging,  ^c.  from  her  Side,  found  them  ap- 
pear very  thin  upon  Deck,  and  desired  my  younger 
Mates  to  drive  them  out  of  their  Holes,  Word 
was  then  brought  me,  that  my  Chief  Mate's  Leg 
was  shot  off,  but  that  he  was  in  good  Heart.  All 
this  time  it  was  a  Calm,  and  our  Guns  of  the  Broad- 
side of  no  Service,  not  being  able,  during  the  En- 
gagement, to  bring  one  Gun  to  bear  upon  them. 
They  kept  throwing  their  shot  so  thick  in  at  our 
Stern,  with  a  continual  Fire,  and  we  return'd  it  as 
fast  as  we  could  load  and  fire.  About  One,  my 
Main-mast  was  shot  by  the  Board,  and  the  Fall  of 
that  stove  the  Pinnace  on  the  Booms.  The  Loss  of 
my  Main-mast  gave  me  a  very  great  Concern,  and 
seeing  the  Condition  of  the  Fore-mast,  the  Fore-yard 
half  way  down,  and  the  Top-sail  Yard-arm  sprung 
in  several  Places,  the  Head  of  the  Top-gallant-Mast 
shot  away,  render'd  that  Mast  quite  useless,  I 
could  not  see  which  way  it  was  in  the  Power  of 
Men  to  save  us  from  these  Dogs,    However,  I  made 


204  GRJiAT  riRATE  STORIES 

myself  as  easy  as  could  be  expected,  and  kept  my 
'1  houghts  to  myself.  1  ho'  the  Shot  were  like  Hail 
about  my  Ears,  I  thank  (jod  I  escaped  them,  neither 
did  they  give  me  much  Uneasiness  as  to  my  Person. 
The  Grabhs  perceiving  their  great  Advantage  by  the 
Fall  of  our  Main-mast,  (5'c.  tho'  all  the  time  before 
within  Musket-Shot,  come  up  boldly  within  Call, 
throwing  in  at  our  Stern  Double-round  and  Patridge 
as  fast  as  they  could  load  and  fire;  we  doing  the 
same  with  Bolts,  &c.  We  saw  a  great  many  Holes  in 
their  Sails.  Soon  after  this,  they  lodg'd  two  Double- 
head-Shot,  and  a  large  Stone  in  the  Fore-mast,  the 
Shrowds  of  which  were  mostly  gone.  I  often  sent 
Capt.  Scarlet  to  Mr.  Cudden,  to  encourage  the 
People,  and  to  take  care  to  cool  his  Guns,  and  not 
fire  in  Haste,  but  take  good  Aim.  We  received  two 
Double-headed-Shot  in  the  Bread-room,  which  were 
soon  plugg'd  up,  and  one  Shot  under  the  Larboard 
Chesstree,  but  so  low  in  the  Water,  that  could  not 
get  at  it,  and  the  Ship  prov'd  leaky.  I  had  a  Pack 
of  sad  cowardly,  ignorant  Dogs  as  ever  came  into  a 
Ship.  As  to  my  common  Sailors,  who  were  not 
above  Twelve  Seamen,  with  the  Officers,  they  stood 
by  me.  It  was  all  owing  to  my  Misfortune  on  the 
Mouse,  that  I  was  so  poorly  Mann'd.     As  to  my 

Third  Mate,  B s,  he  did  not  seem  to  stomach 

what  he  was  about;  he  was  sometimes  on  the  Quar- 
ter-Deck  (not  being  able  to  use  any  Guns  but  the 
Stern-Chase)  and  every  Shot  the  Enemy  fir  d,  he 
cowardly  trembled,  with  his  Head  almost  down  to 


NARRATIVE  OF  THE  SHIP  DERBY  205 

the  Deck.  This  Captain  Scarlet  has  often  declared 
to  the  Gentlemen  at  Bombay,  and  before  those  that 
are  now  coming  Home.  I  had  six  Men  kill'd,  and 
six  their  Legs  shot  off,  with  several  others  wounded 
by  their  Partridge-Shot,  ^c.  Had  our  People  kept 
the  Deck  like  Men,  there  must  have  been  several 
more  kill'd  and  wounded.  About  Three,  I  heard  a 
great  Call  for  Shot,  and  desired  Capt.  Scarlet  to  go 
to  Mr.  Cuddon,  and  tell  him  not  to  fire  in  Waste. 
We  lay  now  just  like  a  Wreck  in  the  Sea,  and  at 
our  Wits  Ends.  Our  Shot  being  almost  spent,  we 
had  a  Hole  cut  in  the  Well  to  try  to  come  at  the 
Company's.  We  continued  on  with  Double-round 
and  Partridge,  and  Bolts,  ^c.  with  a  Double  Allow- 
ance of  Powder  to  each  Gun,  doing  the  utmost  we 
could  to  save  the  Ship.  The  Tiller-rope  was  now 
shot  away,  tho'  of  no  Service  before.  The  Carpen- 
ter told  me  the  Ship  made  a  great  deal  of  Water, 
and  had  above  two  Foot  in  her  Hold.  The  Caulker 
afterwards  told  me  she  had  three  Foot.  I  saw 
nothing  we  could  do  more  than  firing  our  Stern- 
Chase.  There  was  a  sad  Complaint  for  Shot;  how- 
ever we  fir'd  Bolts.  I  call'd  out  to  the  People  to 
have  good  Hearts,  and  went  into  the  Round-house 
to  encourage  them  there.  It  was  very  hard  we  could 
stand  no  Chance  for  a  Mast  of  theirs,  nor  no  lucky 
Shot  to  disable  some  of  them,  in  all  the  Number  that 
we  fir'd.  As  to  our  small  Arms,  they  were  of  little 
Service,  they  keeping  their  Men  so  close.  The  Rig- 
ging of  the  Foremast  being  gone,  and  that  fetching 


206  GREAT  PIRATE  STORIES 

so  much  way,  I  expected  it  to  go  every  Minute;  and 
about  Seven  in  the  Evening,  the  Ship  falling  off  into 
the  Trough  of  the  Sea,  the  Foremast  came  by  the 
Board.  It  was  now  about  Four  o'  Clock,  when  Mr. 
Thomas  Roycrs,  my  Chief  Mate,  sent  my  Steward 
to  desire  to  speak  with  me.  When  I  went  to  him, 
he  spoke  to  me  to  this  Purpose.  "Sir,  says  he,  I 
"am  inform'd  what  Condition  the  Ship  is  in;  as 
"her  Masts  are  gone,  you  had  better  not  be  obsti- 
"nate,  in  standing  out  longer;  it  will  only  be  the 
"Means  of  making  more  Objects,  of  murdering 
"more  Men,  and  all  to  no  Purpose,  but  to  be  used 
"worse  by  the  Enemy,  for  it  is  impossible  to  get 
"away.  Therefore  you  had  better  surrender."  To 
the  best  of  my  Knowledge,  I  hardly  made  him  any 
Answer;  nor  had  I,  before  he  sent  to  me,  the  least 
Thoughts  of  surrendering,  which  I  declare  before 
God  and  Man;  tho'  I  was  well  convinc'd  within  my- 
self, that  it  was  impossible  to  save  the  Ship.  I  went 
up  to  my  old  Station  the  Quarter-Deck,  and  took 
several  Turns,  as  usual,  and  proceeded  in  the  En- 
gagement. I  begun  to  consider  what  Mr.  Rogers 
told  me,  and  the  Condition  of  the  Ship,  and  argue 
within  myself  the  Impossibility  of  doing  any  more 
(for  if  a  Gale  had  sprung  up,  it  could  be  of  no 
Service)  and  all  the  time  from  the  Fall  of  our 
Main-mast,  the  Enemy  were  got  so  near,  that  I  could 
hear  them  talk,  and  my  Second  Mate  did  the  same. 
As  to  our  Masts,  they  had  gain'd  their  Ends,  and 
their  only  Business  now  was  to  fire  at  the  Hull. 


NARRATIVE  OF  THE  SHIP  DERBY  207 

There  was  no  Hopes  of  their  leaving  us,  considering 
the  condition  they  had  brought  us  to,  and  it  could 
not  be  long  before  we  sunk:  for  as  they  lay  so  near 
us,  and  so  low  in  Water,  our  Shot  must  doubtless  fly 
over  them.  At  last  I  was  of  Mr.  Rogers's  Opinion, 
that  it  was  only  sacrificing  the  Men  to  no  Purpose; 
for  they  had  so  large  a  Mark  of  us,  they  could  not 
miss  us;  and  during  all  the  Engagement,  as  they 
play'd  their  Shot  so  hot  at  our  Stern,  it  is  surprizing 
there  were  not  many  more  Men  Kill'd.  I  then  sent 
for  my  Second  and  Third  Mate,  and  told  them  Mr. 
Rogers's  Opinion  and  my  own.  They  both  agreed 
to  it,  and  consented  to  the  surrendering  of  the  Ship. 
So  we  submitted  to  the  Enemy,  finding  it  in  vain  to 
proceed.  By  my  Watch  it  was  Five  o'  Clock.  My 
Second  and  Third  Mate  went  in  to  the  Steerage  to 
forbid  firing,  and  myself  in  the  Round-House,  did 
the  same.  Every  Body  seem'd  to  be  very  well  sat- 
isfied as  to  the  surrendering  Part,  and  no  Objection 
was  made.  Colours  we  had  none  to  strike;  those 
and  the  Ensign-Staff  were  shot  to  Pieces;  and  what 
was  left  of  the  Ensign  being  made  fast  to  the  Main- 
Shrowds,  went  with  the  Mast.  Capt.  Scarlet  went 
into  the  Round-House,  and  call'd  the  Enemy  on 
board,  and  told  them  we  had  no  Boats.  They  sent 
their  Dingey  aboard  with  Four  Men  for  me  and  my 
chief  Officers.  They  left  Two  of  the  Four  aboard 
the  Derby.  Myself  and  my  Second  Mate  went  in 
the  Dingey  aboard  the  Grabb.  We  were  gone  an 
Hour  and  a  half  good,  if  not  more ;  then  we  return'd 


208  GRIiAT  PIRATE  STORIES 

in  a  Gallivat  with  50  or  60  Men,  but  not  a  Soul 
went  aboard  the  Derby,  till  we  return'd.  Then  came 
aboard  more  Gallivats  and  more  Men,  and  secured 
the  Arms,  &c.  and  drove  our  People  up,  some  to  the 
Pumps,  and  some  to  clear  the  Rigging  off  the  Ship's 
Side.  They  transkipt  to  their  Grabbs  what  Treas- 
ure could  be  got  at,  and  the  next  Day  turn'd  out  the 
Remainder,  with  myself.  Scarlet,  Cuddun,  the  two 
Ladies,  and  my  Servants,  into  one  of  the  Grabbs. 


FRANCIS  LOLONOIS 

The  Slave  Who  Became  a  Pirate  King  * 
John  Esquemeling 

FRANCIS  LOLONOIS  was  a  native  of  that 
territory  in  France  which  is  called  Les  Sables 
d'Olone,  or  The  Sands  of  Olone.  In  his 
youth  he  was  transported  to  the  Caribbee  islands, 
in  quality  of  servant,  or  slave,  according  to  custom. 
Having  served  his  time,  he  came  to  Hispaniola; 
here  he  joined  for  some  time  with  the  hunters,  be- 
fore he  began  his  robberies  upon  the  Spaniards. 

At  first  he  made  two  or  three  voyages  as  a  com- 
mon mariner,  wherein  he  behaved  himself  so  cour- 
ageously as  to  gain  the  favor  of  the  governor  of 
Tortuga,  Monsieur  de  la  Place;  insomuch  that  he 
gave  him  a  ship,  in  which  he  might  seek  his  fortune, 
which  was  very  favorable  to  him  at  first;  for  in  a 
short  time  he  got  great  riches.  But  his  cruelties 
against  the  Spaniards  were  such,  that  the  fame  of 
them  made  him  so  well  known  through  the  Indies, 
that  the  Spaniards,  in  his  time,  would  choose  rather 
to  die,  or  sink  fighting,  than  surrender,  knowing  they 
should  have  no  mercy  at  his  hands.     But  Fortune, 

*  The  Buccaneers  of  America. 

209 


210  GREAT  PIRATE  STORIES 

being  seldom  constant,  after  some  time  turned  her 
back;  for  in  a  huge  storm  he  lost  his  ship  on  the 
coast  of  Campechy.  1  he  men  were  all  saved,  hut 
coming  upon  dry  land,  the  Spaniards  pursued  them, 
and  killed  the  greatest  part,  wounding  also  Lolonois. 
Not  knowing  how  to  escape,  he  saved  his  life  by  a 
stratagem;  mingling  sand  with  the  blood  of  his 
wounds,  with  which  besmearing  his  face,  and  other 
parts  of  his  body,  and  hiding  himself  dextrously 
among  the  dead,  he  continued  there  till  the  Spaniards 
quitted  the  field. 

They  being  gone,  he  retired  to  the  woods  and 
bound  up  his  wounds  as  well  as  he  could.  These 
being  pretty  well  healed,  he  took  his  way  to  Cam- 
pechy, having  disguised  himself  in  a  Spanish  habit; 
here  he  enticed  certain  slaves,  to  whom  he  promised 
liberty  if  they  would  obey  him  and  trust  to  his  con- 
duct. They  accepted  his  promises,  and  stealing  a 
canoe,  they  went  to  sea  with  him.  Now  the  Span- 
iards, having  made  several  of  his  companions  pris- 
oners, kept  them  close  in  a  dungeon,  while  Lolonois 
went  about  the  town  and  saw  what  passed.  These 
were  often  asked,  "What  Is  become  of  your  cap- 
tain?" To  whom  they  constantly  answered,  "He  is 
dead:"  which  rejoiced  the  Spaniards,  who  made 
thanks  to  God  for  their  deliverance  from  such  a 
cruel  pirate.  Lolonois,  having  seen  these  rejoicings 
for  his  death,  made  haste  to  escape,  with  the  slaves 
above-mentioned,  and  came  safe  to  Tortuga,  the 
common  refuge  of  all  sorts  of  wickedness,  and  the 


FRANCIS  LOLONOIS  211 

seminary,  as  it  were,  of  pirates  and  thieves.  Though 
now  his  fortune  was  low,  yet  he  got  another  ship 
with  craft  and  subtlety,  and  in  it  twenty-one  men. 
Being  well  provided  with  arms  and  necessaries,  he 
set  forth  for  Cuba,  on  the  south  whereof  is  a  small 
village,  called  De  los  Cayos.  The  inhabitants  drive 
a  great  trade  in  tobacco,  sugar,  and  hides,  and  all 
in  boats,  not  being  able  to  use  ships,  by  reason  of 
the  little  depth  of  that  sea. 

Lolonois  was  persuaded  he  should  get  here  some 
considerable  prey;  but  by  the  good  fortune  of  some 
fishermen  who  saw  him,  and  the  mercy  of  God,  they 
escaped  him ;  for  the  inhabitants  of  the  town  dis- 
patched immediately  a  vessel  overland  to  the  Ha- 
vannah,  complaining  that  Lolonois  was  come  to  de- 
stroy them  with  two  canoes.  The  governor  could 
hardly  believe  this,  having  received  letters  from 
Campechy  that  he  was  dead :  but,  at  their  impor- 
tunity, he  sent  a  ship  for  their  relief,  with  ten  guns 
and  ninety  men,  well  armed;  giving  them  this  ex- 
press command,  "that  they  should  not  return  into 
his  presence  without  having  totally  destroyed  those 
pirates."  To  this  effect  he  gave  them  a  negro  to 
serve  for  a  hangman,  and  orders,  "that  they  should 
immediately  hang  every  one  of  the  pirates,  excepting 
Lolonois,  their  captain,  whom  they  should  bring 
alive  to  the  Havannah."  This  ship  arrived  at 
Cayos,  of  whose  coming  the  pirates  were  advertised 
beforehand,  and  instead  of  flying,  went  to  seek  it  in 
the  river  Estera,  where  she  rode  at  anchor.     The 


212  GREAT  PIRATE  STORIES 

pirates  seized  some  fishermen,  and  forced  them  by 
night  to  show  them  the  entry  of  the  port,  hoping 
soon  to  obtain  a  greater  vessel  than  their  two  canoes, 
and  thereby  to  mend  their  fortune.  They  arrived, 
after  two  in  the  morning,  very  nigh  the  ship;  and 
the  watch  on  hoard  the  ship  asking  them,  whence 
they  came,  and  if  they  had  seen  any  pirates  abroad. 
They  caused  one  of  the  prisoners  to  answer,  they 
had  seen  no  pirates,  nor  anything  else.  Which  an- 
swer made  them  believe  that  they  were  fled  upon 
hearing  of  their  coming. 

But  they  soon  found  the  contrary,  for  about  break 
of  day  the  pirates  assaulted  the  vessel  on  both  sides, 
with  their  two  canoes,  with  such  vigor,  that  though 
the  Spaniards  behaved  themselves  as  they  ought, 
and  made  as  good  defense  as  they  could,  making 
some  use  of  their  great  guns,  yet  they  were  forced 
to  surrender,  being  beaten  by  the  pirates,  with  sword 
in  hand,  down  under  the  hatches.  From  hence  Lo- 
lonois  commanded  them  to  be  brought  up,  one  by 
one,  and  in  this  order  caused  their  heads  to  be  struck 
off.  Among  the  rest  came  up  the  negro,  designed  to 
be  the  pirates'  executioner;  this  fellow  implored 
mercy  at  his  hands  very  dolefully,  telling  Lolonois 
he  was  constituted  hangman  of  that  ship,  and  if  he 
would  spare  him,  he  would  tell  him  faithfully  all  that 
he  should  desire.  Lolonois,  making  him  confess 
what  he  thought  fit,  commanded  him  to  be  mur- 
dered with  the  rest.  Thus  he  cruelly  and  barbarously 
put   them   all   to   death,   reserving   only   one   alive, 


FRANCIS  LOLONOIS  213 

whom  he  sent  back  to  the  governor  of  the  Havan- 
nah,  with  this  message  in  writing:  "I  shall  never 
henceforward  give  quarter  to  any  Spaniard  what- 
soever; and  I  have  great  hopes  I  shall  execute  on 
your  own  person  the  very  same  punishment  I  have 
done  upon  them  you  sent  against  me.  Thus  I  have 
retaliated  the  kindness  you  designed  to  me  and  my 
companions."  The  governor,  much  troubled  at  this 
bad  news,  swore,  in  the  presence  of  many,  that  he 
would  never  grant  quarter  to  any  pirate  that  should 
fall  into  his  hands.  But  the  citizens  of  the  Havan- 
nah  desired  him  not  to  persist  in  the  execution  of 
that  rash  and  rigorous  oath,  seeing  the  pirates  would 
certainly  take  occasion  from  thence  to  do  the  same, 
and  they  had  an  hundred  times  more  opportunity  of 
revenge  than  he;  that  being  necessitated  to  get  their 
livelihood  by  fishery,  they  should  hereafter  always 
be  in  danger  of  their  lives.  By  these  reasons  he  was 
persuaded  to  bridle  his  anger,  and  remit  the  severity 
of  his  oath. 

Now  Lolonois  had  got  a  good  ship,  but  very  few 
provisions  and  people  in  it;  to  purchase  both  which 
he  resolved  to  cruise  from  one  port  to  another.  Do- 
ing thus,  for  some  time,  without  success,  he  deter- 
mined to  go  to  the  port  of  Maracaibo.  Here  he 
surprised  a  ship  laden  with  plate,  and  other  mer- 
chandises, outward  bound,  to  buy  cocoa-nuts.  With 
this  prize  he  returned  to  Tortuga,  where  he  was 
received  with  joy  by  the  inhabitants;  they  congratu- 
lating his  happy  success,  and  their  own  private  in- 


214  GREAT  PIRATE  STORIES 

tercst.  He  stayed  not  long  there,  but  designed  to 
equip  a  licet  sufficient  to  transport  five  hundred  men, 
and  necessaries,  i  hus  provided,  he  resolved  to  pil- 
lage both  cities,  towns,  and  villages,  and  finally,  to 
take  Maracaibo  itself.  I' or  this  purpose  he  knew 
the  island  of  Tortuga  would  afford  him  many  reso- 
lute and  courageous  men,  fit  for  such  enterprises: 
besides,  he  had  in  his  service  several  prisoners  well 
accjuainted  with  the  ways  and  places  designed  upon. 

Of  this  design  Lolonois  giving  notice  to  all  the 
pirates,  whether  at  home  or  abroad,  he  got  together, 
in  a  little  while,  above  four  hundred  men;  beside 
which,  there  was  then  in  Tortuga  another  pirate, 
named  Michael  de  Basco,  who,  by  his  piracy,  had 
got  riches  sufficient  to  live  at  ease,  and  go  no  more 
abroad;  having,  "withal,  the  office  of  major  of  the 
island.  But  seeing  the  great  preparations  that  Lolo- 
nois made  for  this  expedition,  he  joined  him,  and 
offered  him,  that  if  he  would  make  him  his  chief 
captain  by  land  (seeing  he  knew  the  country  very 
well,  and  all  its  avenues)  he  would  share  in  his  for- 
tunes, and  go  with  him.  They  agreed  upon  articles 
to  the  great  joy  of  Lolonois,  knowing  that  Basco 
had  done  great  actions  in  Europe, and  had  the  repute 
of  a  good  soldier.  Thus  they  all  embarked  in  eight 
vessels,  that  of  Lolonois  being  the  greatest,  having 
ten  guns  of  indifferent  carnage. 

All  things  being  ready,  and  the  whole  company 
on  board,  they  set  sail  together  about  the  end  of 
April,  being,  in  all,  six  hundred  and  sixty  persons. 


FRANCIS  LOLONOIS  215 

They  steered  for  that  part  called  Bayala,  north  of 
Hispanlola :  here  they  took  into  their  company  some 
French  hunters,  who  voluntarily  offered  themselves, 
and  here  they  provided  themselves  with  victuals  and 
necessaries  for  their  voyage. 

From  hence  they  sailed  again  the  last  of  July,  and 
steered  directly  to  the  eastern  cape  of  the  Isle  called 
Punta  .d'Espada.  Hereabouts  espying  a  ship  from 
Puerto  Rico,  bound  for  New  Spain,  laden  with  cocoa- 
nuts,  Lolonois  commanded  the  rest  of  the  fleet  to 
wait  for  him  near  Savona,  on  the  east  of  Cape 
Punta  d'Espada,  he  alone  intending  to  take  the  said 
vessel.  The  Spaniards,  though  they  had  been  in 
sight  full  two  hours,  and  knew  them  to  be  pirates, 
yet  would  not  flee,  but  prepared  to  fight,  being  well 
armed,  and  provided.  The  combat  lasted  three 
hours,  and  then  they  surrendered.  This  ship  had 
sixteen  guns,  and  fifty  fighting  men  aboard:  they 
found  in  her  120,000  weight  of  cocoa,  40,000  pieces- 
of-eight,  and  the  value  of  10,000  more,  in  jewels. 
Lolonois  sent  the  vessel  presently  to  Tortuga  to  be 
unladed,  with  orders  to  return  as  soon  as  possible 
to  Savona,  where  he  would  wait  for  them :  mean- 
while, the  rest  of  the  fleet  being  arrived  at  Savona, 
met  another  Spanish  vessel  coming  from  Coman, 
with  military  provisions  to  Hispaniola,  and  money 
to  pay  the  garrisons  there.  This  vessel  they  also 
took,  without  any  resistance,  though  mounted  with 
eight  guns.     In  it  were  7,000  weight  of  powder,  a 


216  GREAT  PIRATE  STORIES 

great  number  of  muskets,  and  like  things,  with  12,- 
000  pieces  of  eight. 

These  successes  encouraged  the  pirates,  they  seem- 
ing very  lucky  beginnings,  especially  finding  their 
fleet  pretty  well  recruited  in  a  little  time:  for  the 
first  ship  arriving  at  1  ortuga,  the  governor  ordered 
it  to  be  instantly  unladen,  and  soon  after  sent  back, 
with  fresh  provisions,  and  other  necessaries,  to 
Lolonois.  This  ship  he  chose  for  himself,  and  gave 
that  which  he  commanded  to  his  comrade,  Anthony 
du  Puis.  Being  thus  recruited  with  men  in  lieu  of 
them  he  had  lost  in  taking  the  prizes,  and  by  sick- 
ness, he  found  himself  in  a  good  condition  to  set  sail 
for  Maracaibo,  in  the  province  of  Neuva  Venezuela, 
in  the  latitude  of  12  deg.  10  min.  north.  This  island 
is  twenty  leagues  long,  and  twelve  broad.  To  this 
port  also  belong  the  islands  of  Onega  and  Monges. 
The  east  side  thereof  is  called  Cape  St.  Roman,  and 
the  western  side  Cape  of  Caquibacoa:  the  gulf  is 
called,  by  some,  the  Gulf  of  Venezuela,  but  the  pi- 
rates usually  call  it  the  Bay  of  Maracaibo. 

At  the  entrance  of  this  gulf  are  two  islands  ex- 
tending from  east  to  west;  that  towards  the  east 
is  called  Isla  de  las  Vigilias,  or  the  Watch  Isle;  be- 
cause in  the  middle  is  a  high  hill,  on  which  stands 
a  watch-house.  The  other  is  caled  Isla  de  la  Palo- 
mas,  or  the  Isle  of  Pigeons.  Between  these  two 
islands  runs  a  little  sea,  or  rather  lake  of  fresh  wa- 
ter, sixty  leagues  long,  and  thirty  broad;  which  dis- 
gorging itself  Into  the  ocean,  dilates  itself  about  the 


FRANCIS  LOLONOIS  217 

said  two  Islands.  Between  them  is  the  best  pas- 
sage for  ships,  the  channel  being  no  broader  than 
the  flight  of  a  great  gun,  of  about  eight  pounds. 
On  the  Isle  of  Pigeons  standeth  a  castle,  to  impede 
the  entry  of  vessels,  all  being  necessitated  to  come 
very  nigh  the  castle,  by  reason  of  two  banks  of  sand 
on  the  other  side,  with  only  fourteen  feet  water. 
Many  other  banks  of  sand  there  are  in  this  lake; 
as  that  called  El  Tablazo,  or  the  Great  Table,  no 
deeper  than  ten  feet,  forty  leagues  within  the  lake; 
others  there  are,  that  have  no  more  than  six,  seven, 
or  eight  feet  in  depth :  all  are  very  dangerous,  espe- 
cially to  mariners  unacquainted  with  them.  West 
hereof  is  the  city  of  Maracaibo,  very  pleasant  to  the 
view,  its  houses  being  built  along  the  shore,  having 
delightful  prospects  all  round:  the  city  may  contain 
three  or  four  thousand  persons,  slaves  Included,  all 
which  make  a  town  of  reasonable  bigness.  There 
are  judged  to  be  about  eight  hundred  persons  able 
to  bear  arms,  all  Spaniards.  Here  are  one  parish 
church,  well  built  and  adorned,  four  monasteries, 
and  one  hospital.  The  city  is  governed  by  a  deputy 
governor,  substituted  by  the  governor  of  the  Carac- 
cas.  The  trade  here  exercised  is  mostly  in  hides  and 
tobacco.  The  inhabitants  possess  great  numbers  of 
cattle,  and  many  plantations,  which  extend  thirty 
leagues  in  the  country,  especially  towards  the  great 
town  of  Gibraltar,  where  are  gathered  great  quan- 
tities of  cocoa-nuts,  and  all  other  garden  fruits, 
which  serve  for  the  regale  and  sustenance  of  the  in- 


218  GREAT  PIRATE  STORIES 

habitants  of  Maracaibo,  whose  territories  are  much 
drier  than  those  of  Cjibraltar.  I  lither  those  of 
Maracaibo  send  great  quantities  of  flesh,  they  mak- 
ing returns  in  oranges,  lemons,  and  other  fruits; 
for  the  inhabitants  of  Gibraltar  want  Hesh,  their 
fields  not  being  capable  of  feeding  cows  or  sheep. 

Before  Maracaibo  is  a  very  spacious  and  secure 
port,  wherein  may  be  built  all  sorts  of  vessels,  hav- 
ing great  convenience  of  timber,  which  may  be  trans- 
ported thither  at  little  charge.  Nigh  the  town  lies 
also  a  small  island  called  Borrica,  where  they  feed 
great  numbers  of  goats,  which  cattle  the  inhabitants 
use  more  for.  their  skins  than  their  flesh  or  milk; 
they  slighting  these  two,  unless  while  they  are  tender 
and  young  kids.  In  the  fields  are  fed  some  sheep, 
but  of  a  very  small  size.  In  some  islands  of  the 
lake,  and  in  other  places  hereabouts,  are  many  sav- 
age Indians,  called  by  the  Spaniards  bravoes,  or 
wild:  these  could  never  be  reduced  by  the  Spaniards, 
being  brutish,  and  untameable.  They  dwell  mostly 
towards  the  west  side  of  the  lake,  in  little  huts  built 
on  trees  growing  in  the  water;  so  to  keep  themselves 
from  innumerable  mosquitoes,  or  gnats,  which  infest 
and  torment  them  night  and  day.  To  the  east  of 
the  said  lake  are  whole  towns  of  fishermen,  who 
likewise  live  in  huts  built  on  trees,  as  the  former. 
Another  reason  of  this  dwelling,  is  the  frequent  in- 
undations; for  after  great  rains,  the  land  is  often 
overflown  for  two  or  three  leagues,  there  being  no 
less  than  twenty-five  great  rivers  that  feed  this  lake. 


FRANCIS  LOLONOIS  219 

The  town  of  Gibraltar  is  also  frequently  drowned 
by  these,  so  that  the  inhabitants  are  constrained  to 
retire  to  their  plantations. 

Gibraltar,  situate  at  the  side  of  the  lake  about 
forty  leagues  within  it,  receives  its  provisions  of 
flesh,  as  has  been  said,  from  Maracaibo.  The  town 
is  inhabited  by  about  1,500  persons,  whereof  four 
hundred  may  bear  arms;  the  greatest  part  of  them 
keep  shops,  wherein  they  exercise  one  trade  or  an- 
other. In  the  adjacent  fields  are  numerous  planta- 
tions of  sugar  and  cocoa,  in  which  are  many  tall 
and  beautiful  trees,  of  whose  timber  houses  may 
be  built,  and  ships.  Among  these  are  many  hand- 
some and  proportionable  cedars,  seven  or  eight  feet 
about,  of  which  they  can  build  boats  and  ships,  so 
as  to  bear  only  one  great  sail;  such  vessels  being 
called  piraguas.  The  whole  country  is  well  fur- 
nished with  rivers  and  brooks,  very  useful  in 
droughts,  being  then  cut  into  many  little  channels 
to  water  their  fields  and  plantations.  They  plant 
also  much  tobacco,  well  esteemed  in  Europe,  and 
for  its  goodness  is  called  there  tobacco  de  sacerdotes, 
or  priest's  tobacco.  They  enjoy  nigh  twenty  leagues 
of  jurisdiction,  which  is  bounded  by  very  high  moun- 
tains perpetually  covered  with  snow.  On  the  other 
side  of  these  mountains  is  situate  a  great  city  called 
Merida,  to  which  the  town  of  Gibraltar  is  subject. 
All  merchandise  is  carried  hence  to  the  aforesaid 
city  on  mules,  and  that  but  at  one  season  of  the  year, 
by  reason  of  the  excessive  cold  in  those  high  moun- 


220  GREAT  PIRATE  STORIES 

tains.  On  the  said  mules  returns  are  made  in  flour 
of  meal,  which  comes  from  towards  Peru,  by  the 
way  of  Estaffe. 

Lolonois  arrivinp;  at  the  gulf  of  Vene7,uela,  cast 
anchor  with  his  whole  fleet  out  of  sight  of  the  Vigilia 
or  Watch  Isle;  next  day  very  early  he  set  sail  thence 
with  all  his  ships  for  the  lake  of  Maracaibo,  where 
they  cast  anchor  again;  then  they  landed  their  men, 
with  design  to  attack  first  the  fortress  that  com- 
manded the  bar,  therefore  called  dc  la  harra.  This 
fort  consisted  only  of  several  great  baskets  of  earth 
placed  on  a  rising  ground,  planted  with  sixteen  great 
guns,  with  several  other  heaps  of  earth  round  about 
for  covering  their  men:  the  pirates  having  landed  a 
league  off  this  fort,  advanced  by  degrees  towards 
it;  but  the  governor  having  espied  their  landing, 
had  placed  an  ambuscade  to  cut  them  off  behind, 
while  he  should  attack  them  in  front.  This  the 
pirates  discovered,  and  getting  before,  they  defeated 
it  so  entirely,  that  not  a  man  could  retreat  to  the 
castle:  this  done,  Lolonois,  with  his  companions,  ad- 
vanced immediately  to  the  fort,  and  after  a  fight 
of  almost  three  hours,  with  the  usual  desperation 
of  this  sort  of  people,  they  became  masters  thereof, 
without  any  other  arms  than  swords  and  pistols: 
while  they  were  fighting,  those  who  were  the  routed 
ambuscade,  not  being  able  to  get  into  the  castle,  re- 
tired Into  Maracaibo  in  great  confusion  and  disor- 
der, crying  "The  pirates  will  presently  be  here  with 
two  thousand  men  and  more."    The  city  having  for- 


FRANCIS  LOLONOIS  221 

merly  been  taken  by  this  kind  of  people,  and  sacked 
to  the  uttermost,  had  still  an  idea  of  that  misery; 
so  that  upon  these  dismal  news  they  endeavored  to 
escape  towards  Gibraltar  in  their  boats  and  canoes, 
carrying  with  them  all  the  goods  and  money  they 
could.  Being  come  to  Gibraltar,  they  told  how  the 
fortress  was  taken,  and  nothing  had  been  saved,  nor 
any  persons  escaped. 

The  castle  thus  taken  by  the  pirates,  they  pres- 
ently signified  to  the  ships  their  victory,  that  they 
should  come  farther  in  without  fear  of  danger:  the 
rest  of  that  day  was  spent  in  ruining  and  demolish- 
ing the  said  castle.  They  nailed  the  guns,  and  burnt 
as  much  as  they  could  not  carry  away,  burying  the 
dead,  and  sending  on  board  the  fleet  the  wounded. 
Next  day,  very  early,  they  weighed  anchor,  and 
steered  directly  towards  Maracaibo,  about  six 
leagues  distant  from  the  fort;  but  the  wind  failing 
that  day,  they  could  advance  little,  being  forced  to 
await  the  tide.  Next  morning  they  came  in  sight 
of  the  town,  and  prepared  for  landing  under  the 
protection  of  their  own  guns,  fearing  the  Spaniards 
might  have  laid  an  ambuscade  in  the  woods.  They 
put  their  men  into  canoes,  brought  for  that  purpose, 
and  landed,  shooting  meanwhile  furiously  with 
their  great  guns.  Of  those  In  the  canoes,  half  only 
went  ashore,  the  other  half  remained  aboard.  They 
fired  from  the  ships  as  fast  as  possible,  towards  the 
woody  part  of  the  shore,  but  could  discover  nobody; 


222  GREAT  PIRATI-:  STORIES 

then  they  entered  the  town,  whose  inhabitants  were 
retired  to  the  woods,  and  (iil)raltar,  with  their  wives 
children  and  families.  1  heir  houses  they  left  well 
provided  with  victuals,  as  Hour,  bread,  pork,  brandy, 
wines,  and  poultry,  and  with  these  the  pirates  fell  to 
making  good  cheer,  for  in  four  weeks  before  they 
had  no  opportunity  of  filling  their  stomachs  with 
such  plenty. 

They  instantly  possessed  themselves  of  the  best 
houses  in  the  town,  and  placed  sentinels  wherever 
they  thought  necessary; — the  great  church  served 
them  for  their  main  guard.  Next  day  they  sent  out 
an  hundred  and  sixty  men  to  find  out  some  of  the  in- 
habitants in  the  woods  thereabouts.  These  returned 
the  same  night,  bringing  with  them  20,000  pieces-of- 
eight,  several  mules  laden  with  household  goods  and 
merchandise,  and  twenty  prisoners,  men,  women, 
and  children.  Some  of  these  were  put  to  the  rack, 
to  make  them  confess  where  they  had  hid  the  rest 
of  the  goods;  but  they  could  extort  very  little  from 
them.  Lolonois,  who  valued  not  murdering,  though 
in  cold  blood,  ten  or  twelve  Spaniards,  drew  his  cut- 
lass, and  hacked  one  to  pieces  before  the  rest,  say- 
ing, "If  you  do  not  confess  and  declare  where  you 
have  hid  the  rest  of  your  goods,  I  will  do  the  like 
to  all  your  companions."  At  last,  amongst  these 
horrible  cruelties  and  inhuman  threats,  one  promised 
to  show  the  place  where  the  rest  of  the  Spaniards 
were  hid.  But  those  that  were  fled,  having  intelli- 
gence of  it,  changed  place,  and  buried  the  remnant 


FRANCIS  LOLONOIS  223 

of  their  riches  underground,  so  that  the  pirates 
could  not  find  them  out,  unless  some  of  their  own 
party  should  reveal  them.  Besides,  the  Spaniards 
flying  from  one  place  to  another  every  day,  and  often 
changing  woods,  were  jealous  even  of  each  other,  so 
that  the  father  durst  scarce  trust  his  own  son. 

After  the  pirates  had  been  fifteen  days  in  Mara- 
caibo,  they  resolved  for  Gibraltar;  but  the  inhabit- 
ants having  received  intelligence  thereof,  and  that 
they  intended  afterwards  to  go  to  Merida,  gave  no- 
tice of  it  to  the  governor  there,  who  was  a  valiant 
soldier,  and  had  been  an  officer  in  Flanders.  His 
answer  was,  "he  would  have  them  take  no  care,  for 
he  hoped  in  a  little  while  to  exterminate  the  said 
pirates."  Whereupon  he  came  to  Gibraltar  with 
four  hundred  men  well  armed,  ordering  at  the  same 
time  the  inhabitants  to  put  themselves  in  arms,  so 
that  in  all  he  made  eight  hundred  fighting  men. 
With  the  same  speed  he  raised  a  battery  toward  the 
sea,  mounted  with  twenty  guns,  covered  with  great 
baskets  of  earth:  another  battery  he  placed  in  an- 
other place,  mounted  with  eight  guns.  This  done, 
he  barricaded  a  narrow  passage  to  the  town  through 
which  the  pirates  must  pass,  opening  at  the  same 
time  another  one  through  much  dirt  and  mud  into  a 
wood  which  was  totally  unknown  to  the  pirates. 

The  pirates,  ignorant  of  these  preparations,  hav- 
ing embarked  all  their  prisoners  and  booty,  took 
their  way  towards  Gibraltar.  Being  come  in  sight 
of  the  place,  they  saw  the  royal  standard  hanging 


224  (.ki:AT   PIRATE  STORIES 

forth,  and  that  those  of  the  town  designed  to  defend 
their  homes.  Loh)nois  seeing  this,  called  a  council 
of  war  what  they  ought  to  do,  telling  his  officers 
and  nnariners,  "That  the  difficulty  of  the  enterprise 
was  very  great,  seeing  the  Spaniards  had  had  so 
much  time  to  put  themselves  in  a  posture  of  defense, 
and  had  got  a  good  body  of  men  together,  with 
much  ammunition;  but  notwithstanding,"  said  he, 
"have  a  good  courage;  we  must  either  defend  our- 
selves like  good  soldiers,  or  lose  our  lives  with  all 
the  riches  we  have  got.  Do  as  I  shall  do  who  am 
your  captain:  at  other  times  we  have  fought  with 
fewer  men  than  we  have  in  our  company  at  present, 
and  yet  we  have  overcome  greater  numbers  than 
there  possibly  can  be  in  this  town:  the  more  they 
are,  the  more  glory  and  the  greater  riches  we  shall 
gain."  The  pirates  supposed  that  all  the  riches  of 
the  inhabitants  of  Maracaibo  were  transported  to 
Gibraltar,  or  at  least  the  greatest  part.  After  this 
speech,  they  all  promised  to  follow,  and  obey  him. 
Lolonois  made  answer,  " 'Tis  well;  but  know  ye, 
withal,  that  the  first  man  who  shall  show  any  fear, 
or  the  least  apprehension  thereof,  I  will  pistol  him 
with  my  own  hands." 

With  this  resolution  they  cast  anchor  nigh  the 
shore,  near  three-quarters  of  a  league  from  the 
town:  next  day  before  sun-rising,  they  landed  three 
hundred  and  eighty  men  well  provided,  and  armed 
every  one  with  a  cutlass,  and  one  or  two  pistols,  and 
sufficient    powder    and    bullet    for    thirty    charges. 


FRANCIS  LOLONOIS  225 

Here  they  all  shook  hands  in  testimony  of  good 
courage,  and  began  their  march,  Lolonois  speaking 
thus,  "Come,  my  brethren,  follow  me,  and  have 
good  courage."  They  followed  their  guide,  who, 
believing  he  led  them  well,  brought  them  to  the  way 
which  the  governor  had  barricaded.  Not  being  able 
to  pass  that  way,  they  went  to  the  other  newly  made 
in  the  wood  among  the  mire,  which  the  Spaniards 
could  shoot  into  at  pleasure;  but  the  pirates,  full  of 
courage,  cut  down  the  branches  of  trees  and  threw 
them  on  the  way,  that  they  might  not  stick  in  the 
dirt.  Meanwhile,  those  of  Gibraltar  fired  with  their 
great  guns  so  furiously,  they  could  scarce  hear  nor 
see  for  the  noise  and  smoke.  Being  passed  the 
wood,  they  came  on  firm  ground,  where  they  met 
with  a  battery  of  six  guns,  which  immediately  the 
Spaniards  discharged  upon  them,  all  loaded  with 
small  bullets  and  pieces  of  iron;  and  the  Spaniards 
sallying  forth,  set  upon  them  with  such  fury,  as 
caused  the  pirates  to  give  way,  few  of  them  caring 
to  advance  towards  the  fort,  many  of  them  being 
already  killed  and  wounded.  This  made  them  go 
back  to  seek  another  way;  but  the  Spaniards  having 
cut  down  many  trees  to  hinder  the  passage,  they 
could  find  none,  but  were  forced  to  return  to  that 
they  had  left.  Here  the  Spaniards  continued  to 
fire  as  before,  nor  would  they  sally  out  of  their  bat- 
teries to  attack  them  any  more.  Lolonois  and  his 
companions  not  being  able  to  climb  up  the  bastion 
of  earth,  were  compelled  to  use  an  old  stratagem, 


226        r;Ri-:A'r  pikatI'  storii-s 

wherewith  at  last  they  deceived  and  overcame  the 
Spanairds. 

Lolonois  retired  suddenly  with  all  his  men,  mak- 
ing show  as  if  he  fled;  hereupon  the  Spaniards  cry- 
ing out  "They  flee,  they  flee,  let  us  follow  them," 
sallied  forth  with  great  disorder  to  the  pursuit.  Be- 
ing drawn  to  some  distance  from  the  batteries,  which 
was  the  pirates  only  design,  they  turned  upon  them 
unexpectedly  with  sword  in  hand,  and  killed  above 
two  hundred  men;  and  thus  fighting  their  way 
through  those  who  remained,  they  possessed  them- 
selves of  the  batteries.  The  Spaniards  that  re- 
mained abroad,  giving  themselves  over  for  lost,  fled 
to  the  woods:  those  in  the  battery  of  eight  guns 
surrendered  themselves,  obtaining  quarter  for  their 
lives.  The  pirates  being  now  become  masters  of 
the  town,  pulled  down  the  Spanish  colors  and  set 
up  their  own,  taking  prisoners  as  many  as  they  could 
find.  These  they  carried  to  the  great  church,  where 
they  raised  a  battery  of  several  great  guns,  fearing 
lest  the  Spaniards  that  were  fled  should  rally,  and 
come  upon  them  again;  but  next  day,  being  all  forti- 
fied, their  fears  were  over.  They  gathered  the  dead 
to  bury  them,  being  above  five  hundred  Spaniards, 
besides  the  wounded  in  the  town,  and  those  that 
died  of  their  wounds  in  the  woods.  The  pirates  had 
also  above  one  hundred  and  fifty  prisoners,  and  nigh 
five  hundred  slaves,  many  women  and  children. 

Of  their  own  companions  only  forty  were  killed, 
and  almost  eighty  wounded,  whereof  the  greatest 


FRANCIS  LOLONOIS  227 

part  died  through  the  bad  air,  which  brought  fevers 
and  other  illness.  They  put  the  slain  Spaniards 
into  two  great  boats,  and  carrying  them  a  quarter  of 
a  league  to  sea,  they  sunk  the  boats;  this  done, 
they  gathered  all  the  plate,  household  stuff,  and 
merchandise  they  could,  or  thought  convenient  to 
carry  away.  The  Spaniards  who  had  anything  left 
had  hid  it  carefully;  but  the  unsatisfied  pirates,  not 
contented  with  the  riches  they  had  got,  sought  for 
more  goods  and  merchandise,  not  sparing  those  who 
lived  in  the  fields,  such  as  hunters  and  planters. 
They  had  scarce  been  eighteen  days  on  the  place, 
when  the  greatest  part  of  the  prisoners  died  for 
hunger.  For  in  the  town  were  few  provisions,  espe- 
cially of  flesh,  though  they  had  some,  but  no  suffi- 
cient quantity  of  flour  of  meal,  and  this  the  pirates 
had  taken  for  themselves,  as  they  also  took  the 
swine,  cows,  sheep,  and  poultry,  without  allowing 
any  share  to  the  poor  prisoners.  For  these  they  only 
provided  some  small  quantity  of  mules'  and  asses' 
flesh;  and  many  who  could  not  eat  of  that  loath- 
some provision  died  for  hunger,  their  stomachs  not 
being  accustomed  to  such  sustenance.  Of  the  pris- 
oners many  also  died  under  the  torment  they  sus- 
tained to  make  them  discover  their  money  or  jewels; 
and  of  these,  some  had  none,  nor  knew  of  none,  and 
others  denying  what  they  knew,  endured  such  hor- 
rible deaths. 

Finally,  after  having  been  in  possession  of  the 
town  four  entire  weeks,  they  sent  four  of  the  pris- 


228  GREAT  PIRATE  STORIES 

oners  to  the  Spaniards  that  were  fled  to  the  woods, 
demanding  of  them  a  ransom  for  not  burning 
the  town.  The  sum  ilcmanded  was  10,000  pieces  of 
eight,  which  if  not  sent,  they  threatened  to  reduce 
it  to  ashes.  For  bringing  in  this  money,  they  al- 
lowed them  only  two  days;  but  the  Spaniards  not 
having  been  able  to  gather  so  punctually  such  a 
sum,  the  pirates  fired  many  parts  of  the  town; 
whereupcm  the  inhabitants  begged  them  to  help 
quench  the  fire,  and  the  ransom  should  be  readily 
paid.  The  pirates  condescended,  helping  as  much 
as  they  could  to  stop  the  fire;  but,  notwithstanding 
all  their  best  endeavors,  one  part  of  the  town  was 
ruined,  especially  the  church  belonging  to  the  mon- 
astery was  burned  down.  After  they  had  received 
the  said  sum,  they  carried  aboard  all  the  riches  they 
had  got,  with  a  great  number  of  slaves  which  had 
not  paid  the  ransom;  for  all  the  prisoners  had  sums 
of  money  set  upon  them,  and  the  slaves  were  also 
commanded  to  be  redeemed.  Thence  they  returned 
to  Maracaibo,  where  being  arrived,  they  found  a 
general  consternation  in  the  whole  city,  to  which 
they  sent  three  or  four  prisoners  to  tell  the  governor 
and  inhabitants,  "they  should  bring  them  30,000 
pieces-of-eight  aboard  their  ships,  for  a  ransom  of 
their  houses,  otherwise  they  should  be  sacked  anew 
and  burned." 

Among  these  debates  a  party  of  pirates  came  on 
shore,  and  carried  away  the  images,  pictures,  and 
bells  of  the  great  church,   aboard  the  fleet.     The 


FRANCIS  LOLONOIS  229 

Spaniards  who  were  sent  to  demand  the  sum  afore- 
said returned,  with  orders  to  make  some  agreement; 
who  concluded  with  the  pirates  to  give  for  their 
ransom  and  liberty  20,000  pieces  of  eight,  and  five 
hundred  cows,  provided  that  they  should  commit  no 
further  hostilities,  but  depart  thence  presently  after 
payment  of  money  and  cattle.  The  one  and  the 
other  being  delivered,  the  whole  fleet  set  sail,  caus- 
ing great  joy  to  the  inhabitants  of  Maracaibo,  to 
see  themselves  quit  of  them:  but  three  days  after 
they  renewed  their  fears  with  admiration,  seeing  the 
pirates  appear  again,  and  re-enter  the  port  with  all 
their  ships:  but  these  apprehensions  vanished,  upon 
hearing  one  of  the  pirate's  errand,  who  came  ashore 
from  Lolonois,  "to  demand  a  skilful  pilot  to  con- 
duct one  of  the  greatest  ships  over  the  dangerous 
bank  that  lieth  at  the  very  entry  of  the  lake." 
Which  petition,  or  rather  command,  was  instantly 
granted. 

They  had  now  been  full  two  months  in  these 
towns,  wherein  they  committed  those  cruel  and  inso- 
lent actions  we  have  related.  Departing  thence,  they 
took  their  course  to  Hispaniola,  and  arrived  there 
in  eight  days,  casting  anchor  in  a  port  called  Isla 
de  la  Vacca,  or  Cow  Island.  This  island  is  inhab- 
ited by  French  buccaneers,  who  mostly  sell  the  flesh 
they  hunt  to  pirates  and  others,  who  now  and  then 
put  in  there  to  victual,  or  trade.  Here  they  un- 
laded their  whole  cargazon  of  riches,  the  usual 
storehouse  of  the  pirates  being  commonly  under  the 


230        c;r]«:at  i'IKaje  storii^s 

shelter  of  the  liuccaneers.  Here  they  made  a  divi- 
dend of  all  their  prizes  and  ^ains,  according  to  the 
orders  and  degree  of  every  one,  as  has  been  men- 
tioned before.  I  laving  made  an  exact  calculation 
of  all  their  plunder,  they  found  in  ready  money 
260,000  pieces-of-eight :  this  being  divided,  every 
one  received  for  his  share  in  money,  as  also  in  silk, 
linen,  and  other  commodities,  to  the  value  of  100 
pieces-of-eight.  Those  who  had  been  wounded  re- 
ceived their  first  part,  after  the  rate  mentioned  be- 
fore, for  the  loss  of  their  limbs:  then  they  weighed 
all  the  plate  uncoined,  reckoning  ten  pieces-of-eight 
to  a  pound;  the  jewels  were  prized  indifferently, 
either  too  high  or  too  low,  by  reason  of  their  ignor- 
ance:  this  done,  every  one  was  put  to  his  oath  again, 
that  he  had  not  smuggled  anything  from  the  com- 
mon stock.  Hence  they  proceeded  to  the  dividend 
of  the  shares  of  such  as  were  dead  in  battle,  or 
otherwise:  these  shares  were  given  to  their  friends, 
to  be  kept  entire  for  them,  and  to  be  delivered  in  due 
time  to  their  nearest  relations,  or  their  apparent 
lawful  heirs. 

The  whole  dividend  being  finished,  they  set  sail 
for  Tortuga.  Here  they  arrived  a  month  after,  to 
the  great  joy  of  most  of  the  island;  for  as  to  the 
common  pirates,  in  three  weeks  they  had  scarce 
any  money  left,  having  spent  it  all  in  things  of  little 
value,  or  lost  it  at  play.  Here  had  arrived,  not  long 
before  them,  two  French  ships,  with  wine  and 
brandy,   and   suchlike   commodities;   whereby   these 


FRANCIS  LOLONOIS  231 

liquors,  at  the  arrival  of  the  pirates,  were  indif- 
ferent cheap.  But  this  lasted  not  long,  for  soon 
after  they  were  enhanced  extremely,  a  gallon  of 
brandy  being  sold  for  four  pieces-of-eight.  The 
governor  of  the  island  bought  of  the  pirates  the 
whole  cargo  of  the  ship  laden  with  cocoa,  giving 
for  that  rich  commodity  scarce  the  twentieth  part 
of  its  worth.  Thus  they  made  shift  to  lose  and 
spend  the  riches  they  had  got,  in  much  less  time 
than  they  were  obtained.  The  taverns  and  stews, 
according  to  the  custom  of  pirates,  got  the  greatest 
part;  so  that,  soon  after,  they  were  forced  to  seek 
more  by  the  same  unlawful  means  they  had  got  the 
former. 


THE    FIGHT    BETWEEN    THE    DORRILL 
AND    THE    MOC^  * 

THESE  truly  representeth  a  schcem  of  what 
misfortune  has  befell  us  as  we  were  going 
through  the  streights  of  Malacca,  in  the  per- 
suance  to  our  pretended  voyage,  vizt.,  Wednesday 
the  7th  July,  5  o'clock  morning  we  espied  a  ship  to 
windward;  as  soon  as  was  well  light  perceived  her 
to  bare  down  upon  us.  Wee  thought  at  first  she  had 
been  a  Dutchman  bound  for  Atcheen  or  Bengali, 
when  perceived  she  had  no  Gallerys,  did  then  sup- 
pose her  to  be  what  after,  to  our  dreadful  sorrow, 
found  her.  Wee  gott  our  ship  in  the  best  posture 
of  defence  that  suddain  emergent  necessity  would 
permitt.  Wee  kept  good  looking  out,  expecting  to 
see  an  Island  called  Pullo  Verello  [Pulo  Barahla], 
but  as  then  saw  it  not. 

About  8  of  the  clock  the  ship  came  up  fairely 
within  shott.  Saw  in  room  of  our  Gallerys  there 
was  large  sally  ports,  in  each  of  which  was  a  large 
gunn,  seemed  to  be  brass.  Her  tafferill  was  like- 
wise taken  downe.  Wee  having  done  what  possibly 
could  to  prepare  ourselves,  fearing  might  be  sud- 
denly sett  on,  ordered  our  people  to  their  respective 
stations  for  action.     Wee  now  hoisted  our  colours. 

*  From  The  Indian  Antiquary,  Vol.  49. 

232 


DORRILL  AND  THE  MOCA         233 

The  Captain  commanded  to  naile  our  Ensigne  to 
the  staff  in  sight  of  the  enimie,  which  was  imme- 
diately done.  As  they  perceived  wee  hoisted  our 
colours  they  hoisted  theirs,  with  the  Union  Jack,  and 
let  fly  a  broad  red  Pendant  at  their  maintopmast 
head. 

The  Pirate  being  now  in  little  more  than  half 
PistoU  shott  from  us,  wee  could  discerne  abundance 
of  men  who  went  aft  to  the  Quarter  Deck,  which 
as  wee  suppose  was  to  consult.  They  stood  as  we 
stood,  but  wee  spoke  neither  to  other.  Att  noone  it 
fell  calme,  so  that  [wee]  were  affraid  should  by  the 
sea  have  been  hove  on  one  another.  Att  i  a  clock 
sprang  up  a  gale.  The  Pirate  kept  as  wee  kept. 
Att  3  a  clock  the  villain  backt  her  sailes  and  they 
went  from  us.  Wee  kept  close  hailed,  having  a  con- 
trary wind  for  Mallacca.  When  the  Pirate  was 
about  7  miles  distant  tackt  and  stood  after  us.  Att 
6  that  evening  saw  the  lookt  for  island,  and  the 
Pirate  came  up  with  us  on  our  starboard  side  within 
shott.  Wee  see  he  kept  a  man  at  each  topmast 
head,  looking  out  till  it  was  darke,  then  he  hailed 
a  little  from  us,  but  kept  us  company  all  night. 

At  8  in  the  morning  he  drew  near  us,  but  wee  had 
time  to  mount  our  other  four  guns  that  were  in 
hold,  and  now  wee  were  in  the  best  posture  of  de- 
fence could  desire.  He  drawing  near  us  and  seeing 
that  if  [wee]  would,  [wee]  could  not  gett  from 
him,  he  far  outsailing  us  by  or  large  [in  one  direc- 
tion or  another],  the  Captain  resolved  to  see  what 


234  GRI":AT  l^IRATI':  S'KM<li:S 

the  rogue  would  doc,  soc  ordered  to  hand  [furl]  all 
our  small  sailes  antl  furled  our  mainesade.  He, 
seeing  this,  did  the  like,  and  as  [he]  drew  near  us 
beat  a  drum  and  sounded  trumpets,  and  then  hailed 
us  four  times  before  we  answered  him. 

At  last  it  was  thought  fitt  to  know  what  he  would 
say,  soc  the  Boatswainc  spoke  to  him  as  was  or- 
dered, which  was  that  wee  came  from  London. 
Then  he  enquired  whether  peace  or  war  with  France. 
Our  answer,  there  was  an  universall  peace  through 
Europe,  att  which  they  paused  and  then  said, 
"That's  well."  He  further  enquired  if  had  touched 
at  Attcheen.  Wee  said  a  boat  came  off  to  us,  but 
[wee]  came  not  near  itt  by  several  leagues.  Fur- 
ther he  enquired  our  Captain's  name  and  whither 
wee  were  bound.  Wee  answered  to  Mallacca. 
They  too  and  [would  have]  had  the  Captain  gone 
aboard  to  drink  a  glass  of  wine.  Wee  said  that 
would  see  one  another  at  Mallacca.  Then  he  called 
to  lye  by  and  he  would  come  aboard  us.  Our 
answer  was  as  before,  saying  it  was  late.  He  said, 
true,  it  was  for  China,  and  enquired  whether  should 
touch  at  the  Water  Islands  [Pulo  Ondan,  off  Ma- 
lacca]. Wee  said  should.  Then  said  he,  So  shall 
wee.  After  he  had  asked  us  all  these  questions  wee 
desired  to  know  from  whence  he  was.  He  said  from 
London,  their  Captain  name  Collyford,  the  ship 
named  the  Resolution,  bound  for  China.  This  Col- 
lyford had  been  Gunners  Mate  at  Bombay,  and 
after  run  away  with  the  Ketch. 


DORRILL  AND  THE  MOCA         235 

Thus  past  the  8th  July.  Friday  the  9th  do.,  he 
being  some  distance  from  us,  About  5^  an  hour 
after  10  came  up  with  us.  Then  It  grew  calme. 
Wee  could  discerne  a  fellow  on  the  Quarter  Deck 
wearing  a  sword.  As  he  drew  near,  this  Hellish 
Imp  cried,  Strike  you  doggs,  which  [wee]  perceived 
was  not  by  a  general  consent  for  he  was  called  away. 
Our  Boatswalne  in  a  fury  run  upon  the  poop,  un- 
known to  the  Captain,  and  answered  that  wee  would 
strike  to  noe  such  doggs  as  he,  telling  him  the  rogue 
Every  and  his  accomplices  were  all  hanged.  The 
Captain  was  angry  that  he  spake  without  order, 
then  ordered  to  halle  him  and  askt  what  was  his  rea- 
son to  dogg  us.  One  stept  forward  on  the  fore- 
castle, beckoned  with  his  hand  and  said.  Gentle- 
men, wee  want  not  your  ship  nor  men,  but  money. 
Wee  told  them  had  none  for  them  but  bid  them 
come  up  alongside  and  take  it  as  could  gett  it.  Then 
a  parcell  of  bloodhound  rogues  clasht  their  cutlashes 
and  said  they  would  have  itt  or  our  hearts  blood, 
saying,  "What  doe  you  not  know  us  to  be  the 
Mocaf"  Our  answer  was  Yes,  Yes.  Thereon  they 
gave  a  great  shout  and  so  they  all  went  out  of  sight 
and  wee  to  our  quarters.  They  were  going  to  hoist 
colours  but  the  -enslgne  halliards  broke,  which  our 
people  perceiving  gave  a  great  shout,  so  they  lett 
them  alone. 

As  soon  as  they  could  bring  their  chase  gunns  to 
bear,  fired  upon  us  and  soe  kept  on  our  quarter. 
Our  gunns  would  not  bear  In  a  small  space,  but  as 


236  GREAT  PIRATE  STORIES 

soon  as  did  hap,  gave  them  better  than  [the  pirates] 
did  like.  His  second  shott  carried  away  our  spritt 
saile  yard.  About  half  on  hour  after  or  more  he 
came  up  alongside  and  soe  wee  p(jwered  in  upon 
him  and  continued,  some  time  broadsides  and  some- 
times three  or  four  gunns  as  opportunity  presented 
and  could  bring  them  to  doe  best  service.  He  was 
going  to  lay  us  athwart  the  hawse,  but  by  God's 
providence  Captain  Hide  frustrated  his  intent  by 
pouring  a  broadside  into  him,  which  made  him  give 
back  and  goe  asterne,  where  he  lay  and  paused 
without  fireing,  then  in  a  small  space  fired  one 
gunn.  The  shott  come  in  at  our  round  house  win- 
dow without  damage  to  any  person,  after  which  he 
filled  and  bore  away,  and  when  was  about  34 
mile  off  fired  a  gunn  to  leeward,  which  wee  answered 
by  another  to  windward.  About  an  hour  after  he 
tackt  and  came  up  with  us  againe.  Wee  made  noe 
saile,  but  lay  by  to  receive  him,  but  he  kept  aloof 
off.  The  distance  att  most  in  all  our  fireing  was 
never  more  than  two  ships  length;  the  time  of  our 
engagement  was  from  ^  an  hour  after  1 1  till  about 
3  afternoon. 

When  [wee]  came  to  see  what  damage  [wee] 
had  sustained,  found  our  Cheife  Mate,  Mr.  Smith, 
wounded  in  the  legg,  close  by  the  knee,  with  a  splin- 
ter or  piece  of  chaine,  which  cannot  well  be  told, 
our  Barber  had  two  of  his  fingers  shott  off  as  was 
spunging  one  of  our  gunns,  the  Gunner's  boy  had  his 
legg  shott  off  in  the  waste,  John  Amos,  Quarter- 


DORRILL  AND  THE  MOCA         237 

master,  had  his  leg  shott  off  [while]  at  the  helme, 
the  Boatswaine's  boy  (a  lad  of  13  years  old)  was 
shott  in  the  thigh,  which  went  through  and  splin- 
tered his  bone,  the  Armorer  Jos.  Osborne  in  the 
round  house  wounded  by  a  splinter  just  in  the  tem- 
ple, the  Captain's  boy  on  the  Quarter  Deck  a  small 
shott  raised  his  scull  through  his  cap  and  was  the 
first  person  wounded  and  att  the  first  onsett.  Wm. 
Reynolds's  boy  had  the  brim  of  his  hatt  y^  shott 
off  and  his  forefinger  splintered  very  sorely.  John 
Blake,  turner,  the  flesh  of  his  legg  and  calfe  a  great 
part  shott  away. 

Our  ships  damage  is  the  Mizentopmast  shott 
close  by  the  cap  and  it  was  a  miracle  stood  soe  long 
and  did  not  fall  in  the  rogues  sight.  Our  rigging 
shott  that  had  but  one  running  rope  left  clear,  our 
mainshrouds  three  on  one  side,  two  on  the  other  cutt 
in  two.  Our  mainyard  ten  feet  from  the  mast  by  a 
shott  cutt  8  inches  deep,  our  foretopmast  backstays 
shott  away,  a  great  shott  in  the  roundhouse,  one  on 
the  Quarter  Deck  and  two  of  the  roundhouse  shott 
came  on  the  said  deck,  severall  in  the  stearidge  be- 
twixt decks  and  in  the  forecastle,  two  in  the  bread 
room  which  caused  us  to  make  much  water  and  dam- 
aged the  greatest  part  of  our  bread.  They  dis- 
mounted one  of  our  gunns  in  the  roundhouse,  two 
in  the  stearidge,  two  in  the  waste,  one  in  the  fore- 
castle, with  abundance  more  damage  which  may 
seem  tedious  to  rehearse. 

Their  small  shott  were  most  Tinn  and  Tuthenage 


238        grI':at  pirate  stories 

[lut('na(/a,  spelter].  They  fired  pieces  of  glass- 
bottles,  do.  teapots,  chains,  stones  and  what  not, 
which  were  found  on  our  decks.  We  could  observe 
abundance  of  great  shott  to  have  passed  through 
the  rogues  forcsailc,  and  our  hope  is  have  done 
that  to  him  which  [will]  make  him  shunn  having 
to  do  with  any  l"",urope  ship  againe.  Att  night  wee 
perceived  kept  close  their  lights.  Wee  did  the  like 
and  lay  by.  In  the  morning  they  were  as  far  off  as 
[wee]  could  discerne  upon  deck.  Wee  sent  up  to 
see  how  they  stood,  which  was  right  with  us.  In 
the  night  wee  knotted  our  rigging  and  in  the  morn- 
ing made  all  haist  to  repare  our  carriages. 

Our  men,  seeing  they  stood  after  us,  [wee]  could 
perceive  their  countinances  to  be  dejected.  Wee 
cheared  them  what  wee  could,  and,  for  their  encour- 
agement, the  Captain  and  wee  of  our  proper  money 
did  give  them,  to  every  man  and  boy,  three  dollars 
each,  which  animated  them,  and  promised  to  give 
them  as  much  more  if  engaged  againe,  and  that  if 
[wee]  took  the  ship,  for  every  prisoner  five  pounds 
and  besides  a  gratuity  from  the  Gentlemen  Employ- 
ers. Wee  read  the  King's  Proclamation  about 
Every,  &c.,  and  the  Right  Honble.  Company's. 

About  9  o'clock  the  loth  July  wee  perceived  the 
rogue  made  from  us,  soe  wee  gave  the  Almighty 
our  most  condigne  thanks  for  his  mercy  that  de- 
livered us  not  to  the  worst  of  our  enimies,  for  truly 
he  [the  pirate]  was  very  strong,  having  at  least  an 
hundred  Europeans  on  board,  34  gunns  mounted, 


DORRILL  AND  THE  MOCA         239 

besides  lO  pattererers  and  2  small  mortars  In  the 
head;  his  lower  tier,  some  of  them,  as  wee  judged, 
sixteen  and  eighteen  pounders.  We  lay  as  near  our 
course  as  could,  and  next  day  saw  land  on  our  star- 
board side  which  was  the  Maine  [Land].  Kept  on 
our  way. 

The  1 2th  July  dyed  the  Boatswalne's'boy,  George 
Mopp,  in  the  morning.  Friday  the  i6th  do.  in  the 
evening  dyed  the  Gunner's  boy,  Thomas  Matthews. 
Sunday  the  i8th  at  anchor  two  leagues  from  the 
PIUo  Sumbelong  [Pulo  Sembilan]  Islands  dyed  the 
Barber,  Andrew  Miller.  Do.  the  31st  dyed  the 
Cheife  Mate,  Mr.  John  Smith.  The  other  two  are 
yet  In  a  very  deplorable  condition  and  wee  are 
ashore  here  to  refresh  them.  .  .  .  The  Chinese 
further  report  .  .  .  the  Mocco  was  at  the  Maldives 
and  creaned  [careened]  ;  there  they  gave  an  end  to 
the  life  of  their  commanding  rogue  Stout,  who  they 
murdered  for  attempting  to  run  away. 


JADDI  THE  MALAY  PIRATE* 

LONG  before  that  action  with  the  English  man- 
of-war  which  drove  me  to  Singapore,  I 
sailed  in  a  fine  fleet  of  prahus  belonging  to 
the  Rajah  of  Johore  [Sultan  Mahmad  Shah].  We 
were  all  then  very  rich — ah!  such  numbers  of 
beautiful  wives  and  such  feasting! — but,  above  all, 
we  had  a  great  many  most  holy  men  in  our  force  I 
When  the  proper  monsoon  came,  we  proceeded  to 
sea  to  fight  the  Bugismen  [of  Celebes]  and  China- 
men bound  from  Borneo  and  the  Celebes  to  Java; 
for  you  must  remember  our  Rajah  was  at  war  with 
them.  (Jadee  always  maintained  that  the  proceed- 
ings in  which  he  had  been  engaged  partook  of  a 
purely  warlike,  and  not  of  a  piratical  character.) 
Our  thirteen  prahus  had  all  been  fitted  out  in 
and  about  Singapore.  I  wish  you  could  have  seen 
them,  Touhan  \_Tiian,  Sir].  These  prahus  we  see 
here  are  nothing  to  them,  such  brass  guns,  such 
long  pendants,  such  creeses  [Malay  kris,  dagger]  ! 
AUah-il-AUah !  Our  Datoos  [datuk,  a  chief]  were 
indeed  great  men ! 

Sailing  along  the  coast  as  high  as  Patani,  we  then 
crossed  over  to  Borneo,  two  Illanoon  prahus  acting 

*  From  The  Indian  Antiquary,  Vol.  49. 

240 


JADDI  THE  MALAY  PIRATE        241 

as  pilots,  and  reached  a  place  called  Sambas  [West 
Borneo]  :  there  we  fought  the  Chinese  and  Dutch- 
men, who  ill-treat  our  countrymen,  and  are  trying 
to  drive  the  Malays  out  of  that  country.  Gold-dust 
and  slaves  in  large  quantities  were  here  taken,  most 
of  the  latter  being  our  countrymen  of  Sumatra  and 
Java,  who  are  captured  and  sold  to  the  planters 
and  miners  of  the  Dutch  settlements. 

"Do  you  mean  to  say,"  I  asked,  "that  the  Dutch 
countenance  such  traffic?" 

"The  Hollanders,"  replied  Jadee,  "have  been  the 
bane  of  the  Malay  race;  no  one  knows  the  amount 
of  villainy,  the  bloody  cruelty  of  their  system 
towards  us.  They  drive  us  into  our  prahus  to 
escape  their  taxes  and  laws,  and  then  declare  us 
pirates  and  put  us  to  death.  There  are  natives  in 
our  crew,  Touhan,  of  Sumatra  and  Java,  of  Bianca 
[Banka]  and  Borneo;  ask  them  why  they  hate  the 
Dutchmen;  why  they  would  kill  a  Dutchman.  It  is 
because  the  Dutchman  is  a  false  man,  not  like  the 
white  man  [English].  The  Hollander  stabs  in  the 
dark;  he  is  a  liar!" 

However,  from  Borneo  we  sailed  to  Biliton 
[island  between  Banka  and  Borneo]  and  Bianca, 
and  there  waited  for  some  large  junks  that  were 
expected.  Our  cruise  had  been  so  far  successful, 
and  we  feasted  away — fighting  cocks,  smoking 
opium  and  eating  white  rice.  At  last  our  scouts 
told  us  that  a  junk  was  in  sight.  She  came,  a  lofty- 
sided  one  of  Fokien   [Fuhkien],     We  knew  these 


242        gri<:at  pi  rati-:  stories 

Amoy  men  would  fij^ht  like  tiger-cats  for  their  sugar 
and  silks;  and  as  the  hrccze  was  fresh,  wc  only 
kept  her  in  sight  by  keeping  close  inshore  and  fol- 
lowing her.  Not  to  frighten  the  Chinamen,  we  did 
not  hoist  sail  hut  made  our  slaves  pull.  "Oh!"  said 
Jadee,  warming  up  with  the  recollection  of  the 
event — "oh!  it  was  fine  to  feel  what  brave  fellows 
we  then  were  !" 

Towards  night  we  made  sail  and  closed  upon  the 
junk,  and  at  daylight  it  fell  a  stark  calm,  and  we 
went  at  our  prize  like  sharks.  All  our  fighting  men 
put  on  their  war-dresses;  the  Illanoons  danced  their 
war-dance,  and  all  our  gongs  sounded  as  we  opened 
out  to  attack  her  on  different  sides. 

But  those  Amoy  men  are  pigs!  They  burnt  joss- 
paper;  sounded  their  gongs,  and  received  us  with 
such  showers  of  stones,  hot-water,  long  pikes,  and 
one  or  two  well-directed  shots  that  we  hauled  off  to 
try  the  effect  of  our  guns,  sorry  though  we  were  to 
do  it,  for  it  was  sure  to  bring  the  Dutchmen  upon  us. 
Bang!  bang!  we  fired  at  them,  and  they  at  us;  three 
hours  did  we  persevere,  and  whenever  we  tried  to 
board,  the  Chinese  beat  us  back  every  time,  for  her 
side  was  as  smooth  and  as  high  as  a  wall,  with  gal- 
leries overhanging. 

We  had  several  men  killed  and  hurt;  a  council 
was  called;  a  certain  charm  was  performed  by  one 
of  our  holy  men,  a  famous  chief,  and  twenty  of  our 
best  men  devoted  themselves  to  effecting  a  landing 
on  the  junk's  deck,  when  our  look-out  prahus  made 


JADDI  THE  MALAY  PIRATE        243 

the  signal  that  the  Dutchmen  were  coming;  and 
sure  enough  some  Dutch  gun-boats  came  sweeping 
round  a  headland.  In  a  moment  we  were  round  and 
pulling  like  demons  for  the  shores  of  Biliton,  the 
gun-boats  in  chase  of  us,  and  the  Chinese  howling 
with  delight.  The  sea-breeze  freshened  and  brought 
up  a  schooner-rigged  boat  very  fast.  We  had  been 
at  work  twenty- four  hours  and  were  heartily  tired; 
our  slaves  could  work  no  longer,  so  we  prepared  for 
the  Hollanders;  they  were  afraid  to  close  upon  us 
and  commenced  firing  at  a  distance.  This  was  just 
what  we  wanted;  we  had  guns  as  well  as  they,  and 
by  keeping  up  the  fight  until  dark,  we  felt  sure  of 
escape.  The  Dutchmen,  however,  knew  this  too, 
and  kept  closing  gradually  upon  us;  and  when  they 
saw  our  prahus  bailing  out  water  and  blood,  they 
knew  we  were  suffering  and  cheered  like  devils.  We 
were  desperate;  surrender  to  Dutchmen  we  never 
would;  we  closed  together  for  mutual  support,  and 
determined  at  last,  if  all  hope  of  escape  ceased,  to 
run  our  prahus  ashore,  burn  them,  and  lie  hid  in 
the  jungle  until  a  future  day.  But  a  brave  Datoo 
with  his  shattered  prahus  saved  us;  he  proposed  to 
let  the  Dutchmen  board  her,  creese  [stab  with  a 
kris']  all  that  did  so,  and  then  trust  to  Allah  for  his 
escape. 

It  was  done  immediately;  we  all  pulled  a  short 
distance  away  and  left  the  brave  Datoo's  prahu  like 
a  wreck  abandoned.  How  the  Dutchmen  yelled  and 
fired  into  her !    The  slaves  and  cowards  jumped  out 


244  GREAT  PIRATI'   STORIES 

of  the  prahu,  but  our  braves  kept  quiet;  at  last,  as 
we  expected,  one  gun-boat  clashed  alongside  of  their 
prize  and  boarded  her  in  a  crowd.  7  hen  was  the 
time  to  see  how  the  Malay  man  could  fight;  the 
creese  was  worth  twenty  swords,  and  the  Dutchmen 
went  down  like  sheep.  We  fired  to  cover  our  coun- 
trymen, who,  as  soon  as  their  work  was  done, 
jumped  overboard  and  swam  to  us;  but  the  brave 
Datoo,  with  many  more  died  as  brave  Malays 
should  do,  running  a-muck  against  a  host  of  enemies. 

The  gun-boats  were  quite  scared  by  this  punish- 
ment, and  we  lost  no  time  in  getting  away  as  rapidly 
as  possible;  but  the  accursed  schooner,  by  keeping 
more  in  the  offing,  held  the  wind  and  preserved  her 
position,  signaling  all  the  while  for  the  gun-boats  to 
follow  her.  We  did  not  want  to  fight  any  more; 
it  was  evidently  an  unlucky  day.  On  the  opposite 
side  of  the  channel  to  that  we  were  on,  the  coral 
reefs  and  shoals  would  prevent  the  Hollanders  fol- 
lowing us:  it  was  determined  at  all  risks  to  get  there 
in  spite  of  the  schooner.  With  the  first  of  the  land- 
wind  in  the  evening  we  set  sail  before  it  and  steered 
across  for  Bianca.  The  schooner  placed  herself  in 
our  way  like  a  clever  sailor,  so  as  to  turn  us  back; 
but  we  were  determined  to  push  on,  take  her  fire, 
and  run  all  risks. 

It  was  a  sight  to  see  us  meeting  one  another;  but 
we  were  desperate :  we  had  killed  plenty  of  Dutch- 
men; it  was  their  turn  now.  I  was  in  the  second 
prahu,  and  well  it  was  so,  for  when  the  headmost 


JADDI  THE  MALAY  PIRATE        245 

one  got  close  to  the  schooner,  the  Dutchman  fired 
all  his  guns  into  her,  and  knocked  her  at  once  into  a 
wrecked  condition.  We  gave  one  cheer,  fired  our 
guns  and  then  pushed  on  for  our  lives.  "Ah !  sir,  it 
was  a  dark  night  indeed  for  us.  Three  prahus  in 
all  were  sunk  and  the  whole  force  dispersed." 

To  add  to  our  misfortunes  a  strong  gale  sprang 
up.  We  were  obliged  to  carry  canvas;  our  prahu 
leaked  from  shot-holes;  the  sea  continually  broke 
into  her;  we  dared  not  run  into  the  coral  reefs  on 
such  a  night,  and  bore  up  for  the  Straits  of  Malacca. 
The  wounded  writhed  and  shrieked  in  their  agony, 
and  we  had  to  pump,  we  fighting  men,  and  bale  like 
black  fellows  [Caff re  or  negro  slaves]  !  By  two  in 
the  morning  we  were  all  worn  out.  I  felt  indifferent 
whether  I  was  drowned  or  not,  and  many  threw 
down  their  buckets  and  sat  down  to  die.  The  wind 
increased  and,  at  last,  as  if  to  put  us  out  of  our 
misery,  just  such  a  squall  as  this  came  down  upon 
us.  I  saw  it  was  folly  contending  against  our  fate, 
and  followed  the  general  example.  "God  Is  great!" 
we  exclaimed,  but  the  Rajah  of  Johore  came  and 
reproved  us.  "Work  until  daylight,"  he  said,  "and 
I  will  ensure  your  safety."  We  pointed  at  the  black 
storm  which  was  approaching.  "Is  that  what  you 
fear?"  he  replied,  and  going  below  he  produced  just 
such  a  wooden  spoon  and  did  what  you  have  seen 
me  do,  and  I  tell  you,  my  captain,  as  I  would  If  the 
"Company  Sahib"  stood  before  me,  that  the  storm 


246         (nuAV  piRAri-:  siories 

was  nothing,  and  that  wc  had  a  dead  calm  cmc  hour 
afterwards  and  were  saved.  God  is  great  and 
Mahomet  is  his  prophet!— but  there  is  no  cliarm 
like  the  Johore  one  for  killing  the  wind  I 


THE  TERRIBLE  LADRONES  * 
Richard  Glasspoole 

ON  the  17th  of  September,  1809,  the  Honor- 
able Company's  ship  Marquis  of  Ely  an- 
chored under  the  Island  of  Sam  Chow,  in 
China,  about  twelve  English  miles  from  Macao, 
where  I  was  ordered  to  proceed  in  one  of  our  cut- 
ters to  procure  a  pilot,  and  also  to  land  the  purser 
with  the  packet.  I  left  the  ship  at  5  P.M.  with  seven 
men  under  my  command,  well  armed.  It  blew  a 
fresh  gale  from  the  N.  E.  We  arrived  at  Macao 
at  9  P.M.,  where  I  delivered  the  packet  to  Mr.  Rob- 
erts, and  sent  the  men  with  the  boat's  sails  to  sleep 
under  the  Company's  Factory,  and  left  the  boat  in 
charge  of  one  of  the  Compradore's  men;  during  the 
night  the  gale  increased.  At  half-past  three  in  the 
morning  I  went  to  the  beach,  and  found  the  boat 
on  shore  half-filled  with  water,  in  consequence  of  the 
man  having  left  her.  I  called  the  people,  and  baled 
her  out;  found  she  was  considerably  damaged,  and 
very  leaky.  At  half-past  5  A.M.,  the  ebb-tide  mak- 
ing, we  left  Macao  with  vegetables  for  the  ship. 

One  of  the  Compradore's  men  who  spoke  Eng- 
lish went  with  us  for  the  purpose  of  piloting  the  ship 

*  From  The  Ladrone  Pirates. 

247 


248  (iRI'.AT  PIRA'rr:  STOKIl'S 

to  Lintin,  as  the  MaruJarincs,  in  consequence  of  a 
late  disturbance  at  Macao,  would  not  grant  permis- 
sion for  regular  pilots.  I  had  every  reason  to  expect 
the  ship  in  the  roads,  as  she  was  preparing  to  get 
under  weigh  when  we  left  her;  but  on  our  rounding 
Cabaretta-Point,  we  saw  her  five  or  six  miles  to  lee- 
ward, under  weigh,  standing  on  the  starboard  tack: 
it  was  then  blowing  fresh  at  N.  E.  Bore  up,  and 
stood  towards  her;  when  about  a  cable's  length  to 
windward  of  her,  she  tacked;  we  hauled  our  wind 
and  stood  after  her.  A  hard  squall  then  coming 
on,  with  a  strong  tide  and  heavy  swell  against  us, 
we  drifted  fast  to  leeward,  and  the  weather  being 
hazy,  we  soon  lost  sight  of  the  ship.  Struck  our 
masts,  and  endeavored  to  pull;  finding  our  efforts 
useless,  set  a  reefed  foresail  and  mizzen,  and  stood 
towards  a  country-ship  at  anchor  under  the  land  to 
leeward  of  Cabarctta-Point.  When  within  a  quar- 
ter of  a  mile  of  her  she  weighed  and  made  sail,  leav- 
ing us  in  a  very  critical  situation,  having  no  anchor, 
and  drifting  bodily  on  the  rocks  to  leeward.  Struck 
the  masts:  after  four  or  five  hours  hard  pulling, 
succeeded  in  clearing  them. 

At  this  time  not  a  ship  in  sight;  the  weather  clear- 
ing up,  we  saw  a  ship  to  leeward,  hull  down,  shipped 
our  masts,  and  made  sail  towards  her;  she  proved  to 
be  the  Honourable  Company's  ship  Glatton.  We 
made  signals  to  her  with  our  handkerchiefs  at  the 
mast-head,  she  unfortunately  took  no  notice  of  them, 
but  tacked  and  stood  from  us.     Our  situation  was 


THE  TERRIBLE  LADRONES        249 

now  truly  distressing,  night  closing  fast,  with  a 
threatening  appearance,  blowing  fresh,  with  hard 
rain  and  a  heav'y  sea;  our  boat  very  leaky,  without 
a  compass,  anchor  or  provisions,  and  drifting  fast 
on  a  lee-shore,  surrounded  with  dangerous  rocks, 
and  inhabited  by  the  most  barbarous  pirates.  I 
close-reefed  my  sails,  and  kept  tack  and  tack  'till 
daylight,  when  we  were  happy  to  find  we  had 
drifted  very  little  to  leeward  of  our  situation  in  the 
evening.  The  night  v/as  very  dark,  with  constant 
hard  squalls  and  heavy  rain. 

Tuesday,  the  19th,  no  ships  in  sight.  About  ten 
o'clock  in  the  morning  it  fell  calm,  with  very  hard 
rain  and  a  heavy  swell; — struck  our  masts  and 
pulled,  not  being  able  to  see  the  land,  steered  by  the 
swell.  When  the  weather  broke  up,  found  we  had 
drifted  several  miles  to  leeward.  During  the  calm 
a  fresh  breeze  springing  up,  made  sail,  and  endeav- 
ored to  reach  the  weather-shore,  and  anchor  with 
six  muskets  we  had  lashed  together  for  that  pur- 
pose. Finding  the  boat  made  no  way  against 
the  swell  and  tide,  bore  up  for  a  bay  to  leeward, 
and  anchored  about  one  A.M.  close  under  the  land 
in  five  or  six  fathoms  water,  blowing  fresh,  with 
hard  rain. 

Wednesday,  the  20th,  at  daylight,  supposing  the 
flood-tide  making,  weighed  and  stood  over  to  the 
weather-land,  but  found  we  were  drifting  fast  to 
leeward.  About  ten  o'clock  perceived  two  Chinese 
boats  steering  for  us.     Bore  up,  and  stood  towards 


250  GREAT  PIRATK  STORIES 

them,  and  made  signals  to  induce  them  to  come 
within  }iail;  on  ncaring  them,  they  bore  up,  and 
passed  to  leeward  of  the  islands.  7  he  Chinese 
we  had  in  the  boat  advised  me  to  follow  them,  and 
he  would  take  us  to  Macao  by  the  leeward  passage. 
I  expressed  my  fears  of  being  taken  by  the  Ladrones. 
Our  ammunition  being  wet,  and  the  muskets  ren- 
dered useless,  we  had  nothing  to  defend  ourselves 
with  but  cutlasses,  and  in  too  distressed  a  situation 
to  make  much  resistance  with  them,  having  been 
constantly  wet,  and  eaten  nothing  but  a  few  green 
oranges  for  three  days. 

As  our  present  situation  was  a  hopeless  one,  and 
the  man  assured  me  there  was  no  fear  of  encounter- 
ing any  Ladrones,  I  complied  with  his  request,  and 
stood  in  to  leeward  of  the  islands,  where  we  found 
the  water  much  smoother,  and  apparently  a  direct 
passage  to  Macao.  We  continued  pulling  and  sail- 
ing all  day.  At  six  o'clock  in  the  evening  I  discov- 
ered three  large  boats  at  anchor  in  a  bay  to  leeward. 
On  seeing  us  they  weighed  and  made  sail  towards 
us.  The  Chinese  said  they  were  Ladrones,  and  that 
if  they  captured  us  they  would  most  certainly  put 
us  all  to  death!  Finding  they  gained  fast  on  us, 
struck  the  masts,  and  pulled  head  to  wind  for  five  or 
six  hours.  The  tide  turning  against  us,  anchored 
close  under  the  land  to  avoid  being  seen.  Soon  after 
we  saw  the  boats  pass  us  to  leeward. 

Thursday,  the  21st,  at  daylight,  the  flood  mak- 
ing, weighed  and  pulled  along  shore  in  great  spirits, 


THE  TERRIBLE  LADRONES         251 

expecting  to  be  at  Macao  in  two  or  three  hours,  as 
by  the  Chinese  account  it  was  not  above  six  or  seven 
miles  distant.  After  pulling  a  mile  or  two  perceived 
several  people  on  shore,  standing  close  to  the  beach; 
they  were  armed  with  pikes  and  lances.  I  ordered 
the  interpreter  to  hail  them,  and  ask  the  most  di- 
rect passage  to  Macao.  They  said  if  we  came  on 
shore  they  would  inform  us;  not  liking  their  hostile 
appearance,  I  did  not  think  proper  to  comply  with 
the  request.  Saw  a  large  fleet  of  boats  at  anchor 
close  under  the  opposite  shore.  Our  interpreter 
said  they  were  fishing-boats,  and  that  by  going  there 
we  should  not  only  get  provisions,  but  a  pilot  also 
to  take  us  to  Macao. 

I  bore  up,  and  on  nearing  them  perceived  there 
were  some  large  vessels,  very  full  of  men,  and 
mounted  with  several  guns.  I  hesitated  to  approach 
nearer;  but  the  Chinese  assuring  me  they  were  Man- 
darine junks  *  and  salt-boats,  we  stood  close  to  one 
of  them,  and  asked  the  way  to  Macao.  They  gave 
no  answer,  but  made  some  signs  to  us  to  go  in 
shore.  We  passed  on,  and  a  large  rowboat  pulled 
after  us;  she  soon  came  alongside,  when  about 
twenty  savage-looking  villains,  who  were  stowed  at 
the  bottom  of  the  boat,  leaped  on  board  us.  They 
were  armed  with  a  short  sword  in  each  hand,  one  of 
which  they  laid  on  our  necks,  and  the  other  pointed 
to  our  breasts,  keeping  their  eyes  fixed  on  their 
officer,  waiting  his  signal  to  cut  or  desist.     Seeing 

*  Junk  is  the  Canton  pronunciation  of  chuen,  ship. 


252  GREAT  i^IRATE  STORIES 

wc  were  incapable  of  making  any  resistance,  he 
sheathed  his  sword,  and  the  others  immediately  fol- 
lowed his  example.  They  then  dragged  us  into  their 
boat,  and  carried  us  on  board  one  of  their  junks, 
with  the  most  savage  demonstrations  of  joy,  and  as 
we  supposed,  to  torture  and  put  us  to  a  cruel  death. 
When  on  board  the  junk,  they  searched  all  our 
pockets,  took  the  handkerchiefs  from  our  necks,  and 
brought  heavy  chains  to  chain  us  to  the  guns. 

At  this  time  a  boat  came,  and  took  me,  with  one 
of  my  men  and  the  interpreter,  on  board  the  chief's 
vessel.  I  was  then  taken  before  the  chief.  He  was 
seated  on  deck,  in  a  large  chair,  dressed  in  purple 
silk,  with  a  black  turban  on.  He  appeared  to  be 
about  thirty  years  of  age,  a  stout  commanding-look- 
ing man.  He  took  me  by  the  coat,  and  drew  me 
close  to  him;  then  questioned  the  interpreter  very 
strictly,  asking  who  we  were,  and  what  was  our 
business  in  that  part  of  the  country.  I  told  him  to 
say  we  were  Englishmen  in  distress,  having  been 
four  days  at  sea  without  provisions.  This  he  would 
not  credit,  but  said  we  were  bad  men,  and  that  he 
would  put  us  all  to  death;  and  then  ordered  some 
men  to  put  the  interpreter  to  the  torture  until  he 
confessed  the  truth. 

Upon  this  occasion,  a  Ladrone,  who  had  been 
once  to  England  and  spoke  a  few  words  of  English, 
came  to  the  chief,  and  told  him  we  were  really  Eng- 
lishmen, and  that  we  had  plenty  of  money,  adding, 
that  the  buttons  on  my  coat  were  gold.  The  chief 


THE  TERRIBLE  LADRONES         253 

then  ordered  us  some  coarse  brown  rice,  of  which 
we  made  a  tolerable  meal,  having  eat  nothing  for 
nearly  four  days,  except  a  few  green  oranges.  Dur- 
ing our  repast,  a  number  of  Ladrones  crowded 
round  us,  examining  our  clothes  and  hair,  and  giv- 
ing us  every  possible  annoyance.  Several  of  them 
brought  swords,  and  laid  them  on  our  necks,  mak- 
ing signs  that  they  would  soon  take  us  on  shore,  and 
cut  us  in  pieces,  which  I  am  sorry  to  say  was  the  fate 
of  some  hundreds  during  my  captivity. 

I  was  now  summoned  before  the  chief,  who  had 
been  conversing  with  the  interpreter;  he  said  I  must 
write  to  my  captain,  and  tell  him,  if  he  did  not  send 
a  hundred  thousand  dollars  for  our  ransom,  in  ten 
days  he  would  put  us  all  to  death.  In  vain  did  I  as- 
sure him  it  was  useless  writing  unless  he  would  agree 
to  take  a  much  smaller  sum;  saying  we  were  all  poor 
men,  and  the  most  we  could  possibly  raise  would  not 
exceed  two  thousand  dollars.  Finding  that  he  was 
much  exasperated  at  my  expostulations,  I  embraced 
the  offer  of  writing  to  inform  my  commander  of  our 
unfortunate  situation,  though  there  appeared  not 
the  least  probability  of  relieving  us.  They  said  the 
letter  should  be  conveyed  to  Macao  in  a  fishing-boat, 
which  would  bring  an  answer  in  the  morning.  A 
small  boat  accordingly  came  alongside,  and  took  the 
letter. 

About  six  o'clock  in  the  evening  they  gave  us 
some  rice  and  a  little  salt  fish,  which  we  ate,  and 
they  made  signs  for  us  to  lay  down  on  the  deck  to 


254  GREAT  PIRATE  STORIES 

sleep;  but  such  numbers  of  Ladrones  were  constantly 
coming  from  tlilfercnt  vessels  to  sec  us,  and  examine 
our  clothes  and  hair,  they  would  not  allow  us  a 
moment's  (juiet.  They  were  particularly  anxious  for 
the  buttons  of  my  coat,  which  were  new,  and  as  they 
supposed  gold.  I  took  it  off,  and  laid  it  on  the  deck 
to  avoid  being  disturbed  by  them;  it  was  taken  away 
in  the  night,  and  I  saw  it  on  the  next  day  stripped 
of  its  buttons. 

About  nine  o'clock  a  boat  came  and  hailed  the 
chief's  vessel;  he  immediately  hoisted  his  mainsail, 
and  the  fleet  weighed  apparently  in  great  confusion. 
They  worked  to  windward  all  night  and  part  of  the 
next  day,  and  anchored  about  one  o'clock  in  a  bay 
under  the  island  of  Lantow,  where  the  head  admiral 
of  Ladrones  was  lying  at  anchor,  with  about  two 
hundred  vessels  and  a  Portuguese  brig  they  had  cap- 
tured a  few  days  before,  and  murdered  the  captain 
and  part  of  the  crew. 

Saturday,  the  23d,  early  in  the  morning,  a  fish- 
ing-boat came  to  the  fleet  to  inquire  if  they  had 
captured  an  European  boat;  being  answered  in  the 
affirmative,  they  came  to  the  vessel  1  was  in.  One 
of  them  spoke  a  few  words  of  English,  and  told  me 
he  had  a  Ladrone-pass,  and  was  sent  by  Captain  Kay 
in  search  of  us;  I  was  rather  surprised  to  find  he  had 
no  letter.  He  appeared  to  be  well  acquainted  with 
the  chief,  and  remained  in  his  cabin  smoking  opium, 
and  playing  cards  all  the  day.* 

*  The  pirates  had  many  other  intimate  acquaintances  on  shore, 
like  Doctor  Chovj  of  Macao. 


THE  TERRIBLE  LADRONES        255 

In  the  evening  I  was  summoned  with  the  inter- 
preter before  the  chief.  He  questioned  us  in  a 
much  milder  tone,  saying,  he  now  believed  we  were 
Englishmen,  a  people  he  wished  to  be  friendly  with; 
and  that  if  our  captain  would  lend  him  seventy  thou- 
sand dollars  'till  he  returned  from  his  cruise  up  the 
river,  he  would  repay  him,  and  send  us  all  to  Macao. 
I  assured  him  it  was  useless  writing  on  those  terms, 
and  unless  our  ransom  was  speedily  settled,  the  Eng- 
lish fleet  would  sail,  and  render  our  enlargement 
altogether  ineffectual.  He  remained  determined, 
and  said  if  it  were  not  sent,  he  would  keep  us,  and 
make  us  fight,  or  put  us  to  death.  I  accordingly 
wrote,  and  gave  my  letter  to  the  man  belonging  to 
the  boat  before  mentioned.  He  said  he  could  not 
return  with  an  answer  in  less  than  five  days. 

The  chief  now  gave  me  the  leter  I  wrote  when 
first  taken.  I  have  never  been  able  to  ascertain  his 
reasons  for  detaining  it,  but  suppose  he  dare  not 
negotiate  for  our  ransom  without  orders  from  the 
head  admiral,  who  I  understood  was  sorry  at  our 
being  captured.  He  said  the  English  ships  would 
join  the  mandarines  and  attack  them.*  He  told  the 
chief  that  captured  us,  to  dispose  of  us  as  he  pleased. 

*  The  pirates  were  always  afraid  of  this.  We  find  the  following 
statement  concerning  the  Chinese  pirates,  taken  from  the  records 
in  the  East-India  House,  and  printed  in  Appendix  C.  to  the  Report 
relative  to  the  trade  ivith  the  East-Indies  and  China,  in  the  ses- 
sions 1820  and  1821   (reprinted  1829),  p.  387. 

"In  the  year  1808,  1809,  and  18 10,  the  Canton  river  was  so  in- 
fested with  pirates,  who  were  also  in  such  force,  that  the  Chinese 
government  made  an  attempt  to  subdue  them,  but  failed.  The 
pirates  totally  destroyed  the  Chinese  force;   ravaged  the  river  in 


256  GREAT  PIRATK  STORIES 

Monday,  the  24th,  it  blew  a  stronjr  gale,  with 
constant  hard  rain;  we  suffered  much  frr)m  the  cold 
and  wet,  being  obliged  to  remain  on  deck  with  no 
covering  but  an  old  mat,  which  was  frequently  taken 
from  us  in  the  night  by  the  Ladrones  who  were  on 
watch.  During  the  night  the  Portuguese  who  were 
left  in  the  brig  murdered  the  Ladrones  that  were 
on  board  of  her,  cut  the  cables,  and  fortunately  es- 
caped through  the  darkness  of  the  night.  I  have 
since  been  informed  they  ran  her  on  shore  near 
Macao. 

Tuesday,  the  25th,  at  daylight  in  the  morning, 
the  fleet,  amounting  to  about  five  hundred  sail  of  dif- 
ferent sizes,  weighed,  to  proceed  on  their  intended 
cruise  up  the  rivers,  to  levy  contributions  on  the 
towns  and  villages.  It  is  impossible  to  describe 
what  were  my  feelings  at  this  critical  time,  having 
received  no  answers  to  my  letters,  and  the  fleet  un- 
der-way  to  sail, — hundreds  of  miles  up  a  country 
never  visited  by  Europeans,  there  to  remain  prob- 
ably for  many  months,  which  would  render  all  op- 
portunities of  negotiating  for  our  enlargement  to- 
tally ineffectual;  as  the  only  method  of  communica- 
tion is  by  boats,  that  have  a  pass  from  the  Ladrones, 

every  direction;  threatened  to  attack  the  city  of  Canton,  and  de- 
stroyed many  towns  and  villages  on  the  banks  of  the  river;  and 
killed  or  carried  off,  to  serve  as  Ladrones,  several  thousands  of 
inhabitants. 

"These  events  created  an  alarm  extremely  prejudicial  to  the 
commerce  of  Canton,  and  compelled  the  Company's  supercargoes 
to  fit  out  a  small  country  ship  to  cruize  for  a  short  time  against 
the  pirates." 


THE  TERRIBLE  LADRONES        257 

and  they  dare  not  venture  above  twenty  miles  from 
Macao,  being  obliged  to  come  and  go  in  the  night, 
to  avoid  the  Mandarines;  and  if  these  boats  should 
be  detected  in  having  any  intercourse  with  the  La- 
drones,  they  are  immediately  put  to  death,  and  all 
their  relations,  though  they  had  not  joined  in  the 
crime,*  share  in  the  punishment,  in  order  that  not  a 
single  person  of  their  families  should  be  left  to  imi- 
tate their  crimes  or  revenge  their  death.  This  se- 
verity renders  communication  both  dangerous  and 
expensive;  no  boat  would  venture  out  for  less  than  a 
hundred  Spanish  dollars. 

Wednesday,  the  26th,  at  daylight,  we  passed  in 
sight  of  our  ships  at  anchor  under  the  island  of 
Chun  Po.  The  chief  then  called  me,  pointed  to  the 
ships,  and  told  the  interpreter  to  tell  us  to  look  at 
them,  for  we  should  never  see  them  again.  About 
noon  we  entered  a  river  to  the  westward  of  the 
Bogue,  three  or  four  miles  from  the  entrance.  We 
passed  a  large  town  situated  on  the  side  of  a  beau- 
tiful hill,  which  is  tributary  to  the  Ladrones;  the 
inhabitants  saluted  them  with  songs  as  they  passed. 

The  fleet  now  divided  into  two  squadrons  (the  red 
and  the  black)  t  and  sailed  up  different  branches  of 
the  river.  At  midnight  the  division  we  were  in  an- 
chored close   to   an   immense   hill,    on   the    top   of 

*  That  the  whole  family  must  suffer  for  the  crime  of  one  indi- 
vidual, seems  to  be  the  most  cruel  and  foolish  law  of  the  whole 
Chinese  criminal  code. 

t  We  know  by  the  "History  of  the  Chinese  Pirates,"  that  these 
"wasps  of  the  ocean,"  to  speak  with  Yuen  tsze  yung  lun,  were 
originally  divided  into  six  squadrons. 


258  GREAT  PIRATE  STORIES 

which  a  numher  of  fires  were  burning,  which  at  day- 
light I  perceived  proceeded  from  a  Chinese  camp. 
At  the  back  of  the  hill  was  a  most  beautiful  town, 
surrounded  by  water;  and  embellished  with  groves 
of  orange  trees.  The  chop-house  (custom-house)  * 
and  a  few  cottages  were  immediately  plundered,  and 
burned  down;  most  of  the  inhabitants,  however,  es- 
caped to  the  camp. 

The  Ladrones  now  prepared  to  attack  the  town 
with  a  formidable  force,  collected  in  rowboats  from 
the  different  vessels.  They  sent  a  messenger  to  the 
town,  demanding  a  tribute  of  ten  thousand  dollars 
annually,  saying,  if  these  terms  were  not  complied 
with,  they  would  land,  destroy  the  town,  and  mur- 
der all  the  inhabitants;  which  they  would  certainly 
have  done,  had  the  town  laid  in  a  more  advanta- 
geous situation  for  their  purpose;  but  being  placed 
out  of  the  reach  of  their  shot,  they  allowed  them 
to  come  to  terms.  The  inhabitants  agreed  to  pay 
six  thousand  dollars,  which  they  were  to  collect  by 
the  time  of  our  return  down  the  river.  This  finesse 
had  the  desired  effect,  for  during  our  absence  they 
mounted  a  few  guns  on  a  hill,  which  commanded 
the  passage,  and  gave  us  in  lieu  of  the  dollars  a 
warm  salute  on  our  return. 

October  the   ist,  the  fleet  weighed  in  the  night, 

*  In  the  barbarous  Chinese-English  spoken  at  Canton,  all  things 
are  indiscriminately  called  chop.  You  hear  of  a  chop-house,  chop- 
boat,  tea-chop,  Chaou-chaou-chop,  etc.  To  give  a  bill  or  agree- 
ment on  making  a  bargain  is  in  Chinese  called  chd  tan;  cha  in  the 
pronunciation  of  Canton  is  chop,  which  is  then  applied  to  any 
writing  whatever. 


THE  TERRIBLE  LADRONES         259 

dropped  by  the  tide  up  the  river,  and  anchored  very 
quietly  before  a  town  surrounded  by  a  thick  wood. 
Early  in  the  morning  the  Ladrones  assembled  in 
rowboats  and  landed;  then  gave  a  shout,  and  rushed 
into  the  town,  sword  in  hand.  The  inhabitants  fled 
to  the  adjacent  hills,  in  numbers  apparently  supe- 
rior to  the  Ladrones.  We  may  easily  imagine  to 
ourselves  the  horror  with  which  these  miserable 
people  must  be  seized,  on  being  obliged  to  leave 
their  homes,  and  everything  dear  to  them.  It  was 
a  most  melancholy  sight  to  see  women  in  tears,  clasp- 
ing their  infants  in  their  arms,  and  imploring  mercy 
for  them  from  those  brutal  robbers !  The  old  and 
the  sick,  who  were  unable  to  fly,  or  to  make  resis- 
tance, were  either  made  prisoners  or  most  inhu- 
manly butchered!  The  boats  continued  passing  and 
repassing  from  the  junks  to  the  shore,  in  quick  suc- 
cession, laden  with  booty,  and  the  men  besmeared 
with  blood!  Two  hundred  and  fifty  women,  and 
several  children,  were  made  prisoners,  and  sent  on 
board  different  vessels.  They  were  unable  to 
escape  with  the  men,  owing  to  that  abominable  prac- 
tice of  cramping  their  feet:  several  of  them  were 
not  able  to  move  without  assistance,  in  fact,  they 
might  all  be  said  to  totter,  rather  than  walk. 
Twenty  of  these  poor  women  were  sent  on  board 
the  vessel  I  was  in;  they  were  hauled  on  board  by 
the  hair,  and  treated  in  a  most  savage  manner. 

When   the   chief  came  on  board,  he   questioned 
them  respecting  the  circumstances  of  their  friends, 


260  GREAT  PIRATE  STORIES 

and  demanded  ransoms  accordingly,  from  six  thou- 
sand to  six  hundred  dollars  each.  He  ordered  them 
a  berth  on  deck,  at  the  after  part  of  the  vessel, 
where  they  had  nothing  to  shelter  them  from  the 
weather,  which  at  this  time  was  very  variable, — the 
days  excessively  hot,  and  the  nights  cold,  with  heavy 
rains.  The  town  being  plundered  of  every  thing 
valuable,  it  was  set  on  fire,  and  reduced  to  ashes  by 
the  morning.  The  fleet  remained  here  three  days, 
negotiating  for  the  ransom  of  the  prisoners,  and 
plundering  the  fish-tanks  and  gardens.  During  all 
this  time,  the  Chinese  never  ventured  from  the  hills, 
though  there  were  frequently  not  more  than  a  hun- 
dred Ladrones  on  shore  at  a  time,  and  I  am  sure 
the  people  on  the  hills  exceeded  ten  times  that  num- 
ber.* 

October  5th,  the  fleet  proceeded  up  another 
branch  of  the  river,  stopping  at  several  small  vil- 
lages to  receive  tribute,  which  was  generally  paid 
in  dollars,  sugar  and  rice,  with  a  few  large  pigs 
roasted  whole,  as  presents  for  their  joss  (the  idol 
they  worship). t  Every  person  on  being  ransomed, 
is  obliged  to  present  him  with  a  pig,  or  some  fowls, 
which  the  priest  offers  him  with  prayers;  it  remains 
before  him  a  few  hours,  and  is  then  divided  amongst 

*  The  following  is  the  Character  of  the  Chinese  of  Canton,  as 
given  in  ancient  Chinese  books:  "People  of  Canton  are  silly,  light, 
weak  in  body,  and  weak  in  mind,  without  any  ability  to  fight  on 
land." 

^  Joss  is  a  Chinese  corruption  of  the  Portuguese  Dios,  God.  The 
Joss,  or  idol,  of  which  Mr.  Glasspoole  speaks  is  the  San  po  skin, 
which  is  SDoken  of  in  the  work  of  Yuen  tsze. 


THE  TERRIBLE  LADRONES        261 

the  crew.  Nothing  particular  occurred  'till  the 
loth,  except  frequent  skirmishes  on  shore  between 
small  parties  of  Ladrones  and  Chinese  soldiers. 
They  frequently  obliged  my  men  to  go  on  shore,  and 
fight  with  the  muskets  we  had  when  taken,  which  did 
great  execution,  the  Chinese  principally  using  bows 
and  arrows.  They  have  match-locks,  but  use  them 
very  unskillfully. 

On  the  loth,  we  formed  a  junction  with  the 
black  squadron,  and  proceeded  many  miles  up  a 
wide  and  beautiful  river,  passing  several  ruins  of 
villages  that  had  been  destroyed  by  the  black  squad- 
ron. On  the  17th,  the  fleet  anchored  abreast  four 
mud  batteries,  which  defended  a  town,  so  entirely 
surrounded  with  wood  that  it  was  impossible  to 
form  any  idea  of  its  size.  The  weather  was  very 
hazy,  with  hard  squalls  of  rain.  The  Ladrones  re- 
mained perfectly  quiet  for  two  days.  On  the  third 
day  the  forts  commenced  a  brisk  fire  for  several 
hours:  the  Ladrones  did  not  return  a  single  shot, 
but  weighed  in  the  night  and  dropped  down  the 
river. 

The  reasons  they  gave  for  not  attacking  the  town, 
or  returning  the  fire,  were  that  Joss  had  not  prom- 
ised them  success.  They  are  very  superstitious,  and 
consult  their  idol  on  all  occasions.  If  his  omens 
are  good,  they  will  undertake  the  most  daring  en- 
terprizes. 

The  fleet  now  anchored  opposite  the  ruins  of  the 
town  where  the  women  had  been  made  prisoners. 


262        gri:at  pirate  stories 

I  Icrc  wc  remained  five  or  six  clays,  during  which 
time  ahout  a  hundred  of  the  women  were  ransomed; 
the  remainder  were  offered  for  sale  amongst  the  La- 
drones,  for  forty  dollars  each.  Ihe  woman  is  con- 
sidered the  lawful  wife  of  the  purchaser,  who  would 
be  put  to  death  if  he  discarded  her.  Several  of  them 
leaped  overboard  and  drowned  themselves,  rather 
than  submit  to  such  infamous  degradation. 

The  fleet  then  weighed  and  made  sail  down  the 
river,  to  receive  the  ransom  from  the  town  before 
mentioned.  As  we  passed  the  hill,  they  fired  several 
shots  at  us,  but  without  effect.  The  Ladrones  were 
much  exasperated,  and  determined  to  revenge  them- 
selves; they  dropped  out  of  reach  of  their  shot,  and 
anchored.  Every  junk  sent  about  a  hundred  men 
each  on  shore,  to  cut  paddy,  and  destroy  their 
orange-groves,  which  was  most  effectually  per- 
formed for  several  miles  down  the  river.  During 
our  stay  here,  they  received  information  of  nine 
boats  lying  up  a  creek,  laden  with  paddy;  boats  were 
immediately  dispatched  after  them. 

Next  morning  these  boats  were  brought  to  the 
fleet;  ten  or  twelve  men  were  taken  in  them.  As 
these  had  made  no  resistance,  the  chief  said  he 
would  allow  them  to  become  Ladrones,  if  they 
agreed  to  take  the  usual  oaths  before  Joss.  Three 
or  four  of  them  refused  to  comply,  for  which  they 
were  punished  in  the  following  cruel  manner:  their 
hands  were  tied  behind  their  back,  a  rope  from  the 
mast-head   rove   through   their   arms,    and  hoisted 


THE  TERRIBLE  LADRONES        263 

three  or  four  feet  from  the  deck,  and  five  or  six 
men  flogged  them  with  three  rattans  twisted  to- 
gether 'till  they  were  apparently  dead;  then  hoisted 
them  up  to  the  mast-head,  and  left  them  hanging 
nearly  an  hour,  then  lowered  them  down,  and  re- 
peated the  punishment,  'till  they  died  or  complied 
with  the  oath. 

October  the  20th,  in  the  night,  an  express-boat 
came  with  the  information  that  a  large  mandarine 
fleet  was  proceeding  up  the  river  to  attack  us.  The 
chief  immediately  weighed,  with  fifty  of  the  largest 
vessels,  and  sailed  down  the  river  to  meet  them. 
About  one  in  the  morning  they  commenced  a  heavy 
fire  till  daylight,  when  an  express  was  sent  for  the 
remainder  of  the  fleet  to  join  them :  about  an  hour 
after  a  counter-order  to  anchor  came,  the  manda- 
rine fleet  having  run.  Two  or  three  hours  after- 
wards the  chief  returned  with  three  captured  vessels 
in  tow,  having  sunk  two,  and  eighty-three  sail  made 
their  escape.  The  admiral  of  the  mandarines  blew 
his  vessel  up,  by  throwing  a  lighted  match  into  the 
magazine  as  the  Ladrones  were  boarding  her;  she 
ran  on  shore,  and  they  succeeded  in  getting  twenty 
of  her  guns. 

In  this  action  very  few  prisoners  were  taken:  the 
men  belonging  to  the  captured  vessels  drowned 
themselves,  as  they  were  sure  of  suffering  a  linger- 
ing and  cruel  death  if  taken  after  making  resistance. 
The  admiral  left  the  fleet  in  charge  of  his  brother, 
the  second  in  command,  and  proceeded  with  his  own 


264        (;ri<:at  hkaii-:  stories 

vessel  towards  Lantow.  The  fleet  remained  in  this 
river,  cutting  paddy,  and  getting  the  necessary  sup- 
plies. 

On  the  28th  of  October,  I  received  a  letter  from 
Captain  Kay,  brought  by  a  fisherman,  who  had  told 
him  he  would  get  us  all  back  for  three  thousand  dol- 
lars. I  le  advised  me  to  offer  three  thousand,  and  if 
not  accepted,  extend  it  to  four;  but  not  farther,  as 
it  was  bad  policy  to  offer  much  at  first:  at  the  same 
time  assuring  me  we  should  be  liberated,  let  the  ran- 
som be  what  it  would.  I  offered  the  chief  the  three 
thousand,  which  he  disdainfully  refused,  saying  he 
was  not  to  be  played  with;  and  unless  they  sent  ten 
thousand  dollars,  and  two  large  guns,  with  several 
casks  of  gunpowder,  he  would  soon  put  us  all  to 
death.  I  wrote  to  Captain  Kay,  and  informed  him 
of  the  chief's  determination,  requesting  if  an  oppor- 
tunity offered,  to  send  us  a  shift  of  clothes,  for  which 
it  may  be  easily  imagined  we  were  much  distressed, 
having  been  seven  weeks  without  a  shift;  although 
constantly  exposed  to  the  weather,  and  of  course 
frequently  wet. 

On  the  first  of  November,  the  fleet  sailed  up  a 
narrow  river,  and  anchored  at  night  within  two  miles 
of  a  town  called  Little  Whampoa.  In  front  of  it 
was  a  small  fort,  and  several  mandarine  vessels  ly- 
ing in  the  harbor.  The  chief  sent  the  interpreter 
to  me,  saying  I  must  order  my  men  to  make  cart- 
ridges and  clean  their  muskets,  ready  to  go  on  shore 
in  the  morning.     I  assured  the  interpreter  I  should 


THE  TERRIBLE  LADRONES        265 

give  the  men  no  such  orders,  that  they  must  please 
themselves.  Soon  after  the  chief  came  on  board, 
threatening  to  put  us  all  to  a  cruel  death  if  we  re- 
fused to  obey  his  orders.  For  my  own  part  I  re- 
mained determined,  and  advised  the  men  not  to 
comply,  as  I  thought  by  making  ourselves  useful  we 
should  be  accounted  too  valuable. 

A  few  hours  afterwards  he  sent  to  me  again, 
saying,  that  if  myself  and  the  quartermaster  would 
assist  them  at  the  great  guns,  that  if  also  the  rest 
of  the  men  went  on  shore  and  succeeded  in  taking 
the  place,  he  would  then  take  the  money  offered  for 
our  ransom,  and  give  them  twenty  dollars  for  every 
Chinaman's  head  they  cut  off.  To  these  proposals 
we  cheerfully  acceded,  in  hopes  of  facilitating  our 
deliverance. 

Early  in  the  morning  the  forces  intended  for 
landing  were  assembled  in  rowboats,  amounting  in 
the  whole  to  three  or  four  thousand  men.  The  larg- 
est vessels  weighed,  and  hauled  in  shore,  to  cover 
the  landing  of  the  forces,  and  attack  the  fort  and 
mandarine  vessels.  About  nine  o'clock  the  action 
commenced,  and  continued  with  great  spirit  for 
nearly  an  hour,  when  the  walls  of  the  fort  gave 
way,  and  the  men  retreated  in  the  greatest  confu- 
sion. 

The  mandarine  vessels  still  continued  firing,  hav- 
ing blocked  up  the  entrance  of  the  harbor  to  pre- 
vent the  Ladrone  boats  entering.  At  this  the  La- 
drones  were  much  exasperated,  and  about  three  hun- 


266  (.KEAT  PIRATE  STORIES 

(Ircd  of  them  swam  on  shore,  with  a  short  sword 
lashed  close  under  each  arm;  they  then  ran  along 
the  banks  of  the  river  'till  they  came  abreast  of  the 
vessels,  and  then  swam  off  a^ain  and  boarded  them. 
The  Chinese  thus  attacked,  leaped  overboard,  and 
endeavored  to  reach  the  opposite  shore;  the  La- 
drones  followed,  and  cut  the  greater  number  of 
them  to  pieces  in  the  water.  They  next  towed  the 
vessels  out  of  the  harbor,  and  attacked  the  town 
with  increased  fury.  The  inhabitants  fought  about 
a  quarter  of  an  hour,  and  then  retreated  to  an  adja- 
cent hill,  from  which  they  were  soon  driven  with 
great  slaughter. 

After  this  the  Ladrones  returned,  and  plundered 
the  town,  every  boat  leaving  it  when  laden.  The 
Chinese  on  the  hills  perceiving  most  of  the  boats 
were  off,  rallied,  and  retook  the  town,  after  killing 
near  two  hundred  Ladrones,  One  of  my  men  was 
unfortunately  lost  in  this  dreadful  massacre !  The 
Ladrones  landed  a  second  time,  drove  the  Chinese 
out  of  the  town,  then  reduced  it  to  ashes,  and  put 
all  their  prisoners  to  death,  without  regarding  either 
age  or  sex! 

I  must  not  omit  to  mention  a  most  horrid  (though 
ludicrous)  circumstance  which  happened  at  this 
place.  The  Ladrones  were  paid  by  their  chief  ten 
dollars  for  every  Chinaman's  head  they  produced. 
One  of  my  men  turning  the  corner  of  a  street  was 
met  by  a  Ladrone  running  furiously  after  a  Chi- 
nese; he  had  a  drawn  sword  in  his  hand,  and  two 


THE  TERRIBLE  LADRONES        267 

Chinaman's  heads  which  he  had  cut  off,  tied  by 
their  tails,  and  slung  round  his  neck.  I  was  wit- 
ness myself  to  some  of  them  producing  five  or  six  to 
obtain  payment ! 

On  the  4th  of  November  an  order  arrived  from 
the  admiral  for  the  fleet  to  proceed  immediately  to 
Lantow,  where  he  was  lying  with  only  two  vessels, 
and  three  Portuguese  ships  and  a  brig  constantly  an- 
noying him;  several  sail  of  mandarine  vessels  were 
daily  expected.  The  fleet  weighed  and  proceeded 
towards  Lantow.  On  passing  the  island  of  Lintin, 
three  ships  and  a  brig  gave  chase  to  us.  The  La- 
drones  prepared  to  board;  but  night  closing  we  lost 
sight  of  them :  I  am  convinced  they  altered  their 
course  and  stood  from  us.  These  vessels  were  in 
the  pay  of  the  Chinese  government,  and  style  them- 
selves the  Invincible  Squadron,  cruising  in  the  river 
Tigris  to  annihilate  the  Ladrones ! 

On  the  fifth,  in  the  morning,  the  red  squadron  an- 
chored in  a  bay  under  Lantow;  the  black  squadron 
stood  to  the  eastward.  In  this  bay  they  hauled  sev- 
eral of  their  vessels  on  shore  to  bream  their  bottoms 
and  repair  them. 

In  the  afternoon  of  the  8th  of  November,  four 
ships,  a  brig  and  a  schooner  came  off  the  mouth  of 
the  bay.  At  first  the  pirates  were  much  alarmed, 
supposing  them  to  be  English  vessels  come  to  rescue 
us.  Some  of  them  threatened  to  hang  us  to  the 
mast-head  for  them  to  fire  at;  and  with  much  diffi- 
culty we  persuaded  them  that  they  were  Portuguese. 


268  GREAT  PIRATE  STORIES 

The  Ladroncs  had  only  seven  junks  in  a  fit  state  for 
action;  these  they  hauled  outside,  and  moored  them 
head  and  stern  across  the  hay;  and  manned  all  the 
boats  belonging  to  the  repairing  vessels  ready  for 
boarding. 

The  Portuguese  observing  these  maneuvers  hove 
to,  and  communicated  by  boats.  Soon  afterwards 
they  made  sail,  each  ship  firing  her  broadside  as  she 
passed,  but  without  effect,  the  shot  falling  far  short. 
The  Ladrones  did  not  return  a  single  shot,  but 
waved  their  colors,  and  threw  up  rockets,  to  induce 
them  to  come  further  in,  which  they  might  easily 
have  done,  the  outside  junks  lying  in  four  fathoms 
water  which  I  sounded  myself:  though  the  Portu- 
guese in  their  letters  to  Macao  lamented  there 
was  not  sufficient  water  for  them  to  engage  closer, 
but  that  they  would  certainly  prevent  their  escaping 
before  the  mandarine  fleet  arrived! 

On  the  20th  of  November,  early  in  the  morning, 
I  perceived  an  immense  fleet  of  mandarine  vessels 
standing  for  the  bay.  On  nearing  us,  they  formed 
a  line,  and  stood  close  in;  each  vessel  as  she  dis- 
charged her  guns  tacked  to  join  the  rear  and  reload. 
They  kept  up  a  constant  fire  for  about  two  hours, 
when  one  of  their  largest  vessels  was  blown  up  by  a 
firebrand  thrown  from  a  Ladrone  junk;  after  which 
they  kept  at  a  more  respectful  distance,  but  contin- 
ued firing  without  Intermission  'till  the  21st  at  night, 
when  it  fell  calm. 

The   Ladrones   towed   out   seven  large   vessels, 


THE  TERRIBLE  LADRONES        269 

with  about  two  hundred  rowboats  to  board  them; 
but  a  breeze  springing  up,  they  made  sail  and  es- 
caped. The  Ladrones  returned  into  the  bay,  and  an- 
chored. The  Portuguese  and  mandarines  followed, 
and  continued  a  heavy  cannonading  during  that 
night  and  the  next  day.  The  vessel  I  was  in  had 
her  foremast  shot  away,  which  they  supplied  very 
expeditiously  by  taking  a  mainmast  from  a  smaller 
vessel. 

On  the  23d,  in  the  evening,  it  again  fell  calm; 
the  Ladrones  towed  out  fifteen  junks  in  two  divi- 
sions, with  the  intention  of  surrounding  them,  which 
was  nearly  effected,  having  come  up  with  and 
boarded  one,  when  a  breeze  suddenly  sprung  up. 
The  captured  vessel  mounted  twenty-two  guns. 
Most  of  her  crew  leaped  overboard;  sixty  or  sev- 
enty were  taken  immediately,  cut  to  pieces  and 
thrown  into  the  river.  Early  in  the  morning  the 
Ladrones  returned  into  the  bay,  and  anchored  in 
the  same  situation  as  before.  The  Portuguese  and 
mandarines  followed,  keeping  up  a  constant  fire. 
The  Ladrones  never  returned  a  single  shot,  but  al- 
ways kept  in  readiness  to  board,  and  the  Portuguese 
were  careful  never  to  allow  them  an  opportunity. 

On  the  28th,  at  night,  they  sent  in  eight  fire-ves- 
sels, which  if  properly  constructed  must  have  done 
great  execution,  having  every  advantage  they  could 
wish  for  to  effect  their  purpose;  a  strong  breeze  and 
tide  directly  into  the  bay,  and  the  vessels  lying  so 
close  together  that  it  was  impossible  to  miss  them 


270  GREAT  PIRATE  STORIES 

On  their  first  appearance  the  Ladrones  gave  a  gen- 
eral shout,  supposing  them  to  be  mandarine  vessels 
on  fire,  hut  were  very  soon  convinced  of  their  mis- 
take. They  came  very  regularly  into  the  center  of 
the  fleet,  two  and  two,  burning  furiously;  one  of 
them  came  alongside  of  the  vessel  I  was  in,  but  they 
succeeded  in  booming  her  off.  She  appeared  to  be 
a  vessel  of  about  thirty  tons;  her  hold  was  filled 
with  straw  and  wood,  and  there  were  a  few  small 
boxes  of  combustibles  on  her  deck,  which  exploded 
alongside  of  us  without  doing  any  damage.  The  La- 
drones,  however,  towed  them  all  on  shore,  extin- 
guished the  fire,  and  broke  them  up  for  fire-wood. 
The  Portuguese  claim  the  credit  of  constructing 
these  destructive  machines,  and  actually  sent  a  dis- 
patch to  the  Governor  of  Macao,  saying  they  had 
destroyed  at  least  one-third  of  the  Ladrones'  fleet, 
and  hoped  soon  to  effect  their  purpose  by  totally  an- 
nihilating them ! 

On  the  29th  of  November,  the  Ladrones  being  all 
ready  for  sea,  they  weighed  and  stood  boldly  out, 
bidding  defiance  to  the  invincible  squadron  and  Im- 
perial fleet,  consisting  of  ninety-three  war-junks,  six 
Portuguese  ships,  a  brig,  and  a  schooner.  Imme- 
diately the  Ladrones  weighed,  they  made  all  sail. 
The  Ladrones  chased  them  two  or  three  hours, 
keeping  up  a  constant  fire;  finding  they  did  not  come 
up  with  them,  they  hauled  their  wind  and  stood  to 
the  eastward. 

Thus    terminated    the    boasted    blockade,    which 


THE  TERRIBLE  LADRONES         271 

lasted  nine  days,  during  which  time  the  Ladrones 
completed  all  their  repairs.  In  this  action  not  a 
single  Ladrone  vessel  was  destroyed,  and  their  loss 
about  thirty  or  forty  men.  An  American  was  also 
killed,  one  of  three  that  remained  out  of  eight  taken 
in  a  schooner.  I  had  two  very  narrow  escapes :  the 
first,  a  twelve-pounder  shot  fell  within  three  or  four 
feet  of  me;  another  took  a  piece  out  of  a  small 
brass-swivel  on  which  I  was  standing.  The  chief's 
wife  frequently  sprinkled  me  with  garlic-water, 
which  they  consider  an  effectual  charm  against  shot. 
The  fleet  continued  under  sail  all  night,  steering  to- 
wards the  eastward.  In  the  morning  they  anchored 
in  a  large  bay  surrounded  by  lofty  and  barren  moun- 
tains. 

On  the  2nd  of  December  I  received  a  letter  from 
Lieutenant  Maughn,  commander  of  the  Honorable 
Company's  cruiser  Antelope,  saying  that  he  had  the 
ransom  on  board,  and  had  been  three  days  cruising 
after  us,  and  wished  me  to  settle  with  the  chief  on 
the  securest  metliod  of  delivering  it.  The  chief 
agreed  to  send  us  in  a  small  gunboat,  'till  we  came 
within  sight  of  the  Antelope;  then  the  Compra- 
dore's  boat  was  to  bring  the  ransom  and  receive  us. 

I  was  so  agitated  at  receiving  this  joyful  news, 
that  it  was  with  considerable  difficulty  I  could  scrawl 
about  two  or  three  lines  to  inform  Lieutenant 
Maughn  of  the  arrangements  I  had  made.  We  were 
all  so  deeply  affected  by  the  gratifying  tidings,  that 
we  seldom  closed  our  eyes,  but  continued  watching 


272  GREAT  PIRATE  STORIES 

day  and  ni^ht  for  the  boat.  On  the  6th  she  returned 
with  Lieutenant  Mau^hn's  answer,  saying  he  would 
respect  any  single  boat;  but  would  not  allow  the 
fleet  to  approach  him.  The  chief  then,  according  to 
his  first  proposal,  ordered  a  gunboat  to  take  us, 
and  with  no  small  degree  of  pleasure  we  left  the 
Ladrone  fleet  about  four  o'clock  in  the  morning. 

At  one  P.M.  saw  the  Antelope  under  all  sail", 
standing  toward  us.  7  he  Ladrone  boat  immediately 
anchored,  and  dispatched  the  Compradore's  boat 
for  the  ransom,  saying,  that  if  she  approached 
nearer,  they  would  return  to  the  fleet;  and  they  were 
just  weighing  when  she  shortened  sail,  and  anchored 
about  two  miles  from  us.  The  boat  did  not  reach 
her  'till  late  in  the  afternoon,  owing  to  the  tide's 
being  strong  against  her.  She  received  the  ransom 
and  left  the  Antelope  just  before  dark.  A  manda- 
rine boat  that  had  been  lying  concealed  under  the 
land,  and  watching  their  maneuvers,  gave  chase  to 
her,  and  was  within  a  few  fathoms  of  taking  her, 
when  she  saw  a  light,  which  the  Ladrones  answered, 
and  the  Mandarine  hauled  off. 

Our  situation  was  now  a  most  critical  one;  the 
ransom  was  in  the  hands  of  the  Ladrones,  and  the 
Compradore  dare  not  return  with  us  for  fear  of  a 
second  attack  from  the  mandarine  boat.  The  La- 
drones would  not  remain  "till  morning,  so  we  were 
obliged  to  return  with  them  to  the  fleet. 

In  the  morning  the  chief  inspected  the  ransom, 
which  consisted  of  the  following  articles:  two  bales 


THE  TERRIBLE  LADRONES        273 

of  superfine  scarlet  cloth;  two  chests  of  opium;  two 
casks  of  gunpowder;  and  a  telescope;  the  rest  in 
dollars.  He  objected  to  the  telescope  not  being 
new;  and  said  he  should  detain  one  of  us  'till  an- 
other was  sent,  or  a  hundred  dollars  in  lieu  of  it. 
The  Compradore  however  agreed  with  him  for  the 
hundred  dollars. 

Every  thing  being  at  length  settled,  the  chief  or- 
dered two  gunboats  to  convey  us  near  the  Antelope; 
we  saw  her  just  before  dusk,  when  the  Ladrone 
boats  left  us.  We  had  the  inexpressible  pleasure  of 
arriving  on  board  the  Antelope  at  7  P.M.,  where  we 
were  most  cordially  received,  and  heartily  congratu- 
lated on  our  safe  and  happy  deliverance  from  a  mis- 
erable captivity,  which  we  had  endured  for  eleven 
weeks  and  three  days. 

A  few  Remarks  on  the  Origin,  Progress,  Manners, 
and  Customs  of  the  Ladrones 

The  Ladrones  are  a  disaffected  race  of  Chinese, 
that  revolted  against  the  oppressions  of  the  manda- 
rins. They  first  commenced  their  depredations  on 
the  Western  coast  (Cochin-China),  by  attacking 
small  trading  vessels  in  rowboats,  carrying  from 
thirty  to  forty  men  each.  They  continued  this  sys- 
tem of  piracy  several  years;  at  length  their  suc- 
cesses, and  the  oppressive  state  of  the  Chinese,  had 
the  effect  of  rapidly  increasing  their  numbers.  Hun- 
dreds of  fishermen  and  others  flocked  to  their  stand- 
ard;  and   as    their   number   increased   they   conse- 


274  GRI-Ar  IMRATK  STORIES 

qucntly  became  more  desperate.  They  blockaded 
all  the  principal  rivers,  and  captured  several  large 
junks,  mountinj^  from  ten  to  fifteen  guns  each. 

With  these  junks  they  formed  a  very  formidable 
fleet,  and  no  small  vessels  could  trade  on  the  coast 
with  safety.  Ihey  plundered  several  small  villages, 
and  exercised  such  wanton  barbarity  as  struck  horror 
into  the  breasts  of  the  Chinese.  To  check  these 
enormities  the  government  equipped  a  fleet  of  forty 
imperial  war-junks,  mounting  from  eighteen  to 
twenty  guns  each.  On  the  very  first  rencontre, 
twenty-eight  of  the  imperial  junks  struck  to  the  pi- 
rates; the  rest  saved  themselves  by  a  precipitate  re- 
treat. 

These  junks,  fully  equipped  for  war,  were  a  great 
acquisition  to  them.  Their  numbers  augmented  so 
rapidly,  that  at  the  period  of  my  captivity  they  were 
supposed  to  amount  to  near  seventy  thousand  men, 
eight  hundred  large  vessels,  and  nearly  a  thousand 
small  ones,  including  rowboats.  They  were  divided 
into  five  squadrons,  distinguished  by  different  col- 
ored flags:  each  squadron  commanded  by  an  ad- 
miral, or  chief;  but  all  under  the  orders  of  A-juo- 
Chay  (Ching  yih  saou),  their  premier  chef,  a  most 
daring  and  enterprising  man,  who  went  so  far  as  to 
declare  his  intention  of  displacing  the  present  Tar- 
tar family  from  the  throne  of  China,  and  to  restore 
the  ancient  Chinese  dynasty. 

This  extraordinary  character  would  have  cer- 
tainly shaken  the  foundation  of  the  government,  had 


THE  TERRIBLE  LADRONES        275 

he  not  been  thwarted  by  the  jealousy  of  the  second 
in  command,  who  declared  his  independence,  and 
soon  after  surrendered  to  the  mandarines  with  five 
hundred  vessels,  on  promise  of  a  pardon.  Most  of 
the  inferior  chiefs  followed  his  example.  A-juo- 
Chay  (Ching  yih  saou)  held  out  a  few  months 
longer,  and  at  length  surrendered  with  sixteen  thou- 
sand men,  on  condition  of  a  general  pardon,  and 
himself  to  be  made  a  mandarine  of  distinction. 

The  Ladrones  have  no  settled  residence  on  shore, 
but  live  constantly  in  their  vessels.  The  after-part 
is  appropriated  to  the  captain  and  his  wives;  he  gen- 
erally has  five  or  six.  With  respect  to  conjugal 
rights  they  are  religiously  strict;  no  person  is  al- 
lowed to  have  a  woman  an  board,  unless  married  to 
her  according  to  their  laws.  Every  man  is  allowed 
a  small  berth,  about  four  feet  square,  where  he 
stows  with  his  wife  and  family. 

From  the  number  of  souls  crowded  in  so  small  a 
space,  it  must  naturally  be  supposed  they  are  hor- 
ridly dirty,  whic.h  is  evidently  the  case,  and  their 
vessels  swarm  with  all  kinds  of  vermin.  Rats  in 
particular,  which  they  encourage  to  breed,  and  eat 
them  as  great  delicacies;  in  fact,  there  are  very  few 
creatures  they  will  not  eat.  During  our  captivity  we 
lived  three  weeks  on  caterpillars  boiled  with  rice. 
They  are  much  addicted  to  gambling,  and  spend 
all  their  leisure  hours  at  cards  and  smoking  opium. 


THE  FEMALE  CAPTIVE* 

Luc  RET  I A    PaRKKR 

THE  event  which  Is  here  related  is  the  cap- 
ture by  the  Pirates  of  the  English  sloop 
Eliza  Ann,  bound  from  St,  Johns  to  An- 
tigua, and  the  massacre  of  the  whole  crew  (ten 
in  number)  with  the  exception  of  one  female  pas- 
senger, whose  life,  by  the  interposition  of  Divine 
Providence,  was  miraculously  preserved.  The  par- 
ticulars are  copied  from  a  letter  written  by  the 
unfortunate  Miss  Parker  (the  female  passenger 
above  alluded  to)  to  her  brother  in  New  York. 

"St.  Johns,  April  3,   1825. 
"Dear  Brother, 

"You  have  undoubtedly  heard  of  my  adverse  for- 
tune, and  the  shocking  Incident  that  has  attended 
me  since  I  had  the  pleasure  of  seeing  you  in  No- 
vember last.  Anticipating  your  impatience  to  be 
made  acquainted  with  a  more  circumstantial  detail 
of  my  extraordinary  adventures,  I  shall  not  on 
account  of  the  interest  which  I  know  you  must  feel 
in  my  welfare,  hesitate  to  oblige  you;  yet,  I  must 
declare  to  you  that  it  is  that  consideration  alone 

•  From  an  Old  Pamphlet,  published  in  1825. 

276 


THE  FEMALE  CAPTIVE  277 

that  prompts  me  to  do  It,  as  even  the  recollection 
of  the  scenes  which  I  have  witnessed  you  must  be 
sensible  must  ever  be  attended  with  pain:  and  that 
I  cannot  reflect  on  what  I  have  endured,  and  the 
scenes  of  horror  that  I  have  been  witness  to,  with- 
out the  severest  shock.  I  shall  now,  brother,  pro- 
ceed to  furnish  you  with  a  detail  of  my  misfortunes 
as  they  occurred,  without  exaggeration,  and  if  it 
should  be  your  wish  to  communicate  them  to  the 
public,  through  the  medium  of  a  public  print,  or 
in  any  other  way,  you  are  at  liberty  to  do  it,  and 
I  shall  consider  myself  amply  rewarded  if  in  a 
single  instance  it  proves  beneficial  in  removing  a 
doubt  in  the  minds  of  such,  who,  although  they  dare 
not  deny  the  existence  of  a  Supreme  Being,  yet 
disbelieve  that  he  ever  in  any  way  revealed  Him- 
self to  his  creatures.  Let  Philosophy  (as  it  is 
termed)  smile  with  pity  or  contempt  on  my  weak- 
ness or  credulity,  yet  the  superintendence  of  a 
particular  Providence,  interfering  by  second 
causes,  is  so  apparent  to  me,  and  was  so  conspicu- 
ously displayed  in  the  course  of  my  afflictions,  that 
I  shall  not  banish  it  from  my  mind  from  the  begin- 
ning to  the  end  of  my  narration. 

On  the  28th  February  I  took  passage  on  board 
the  sloop  Eliza  Ann,  captain  Charles  Smith,  for 
Antigua,  in  compliance  with  the  earnest  request  of 
brother  Thomas  and  family,  who  had  advised  me 
that  they  had  concluded  to  make  that  island  the 
place  of  their  permanent  residence,  having  a  few 


278  GREAT  PIRATE  STORIES 

months  previous  purchased  there  a  valuable  Planta- 
tion. We  set  sail  with  a  favorable  wind,  and  with 
every  appearance  of  a  sliort  and  pleasant  voyage, 
and  met  with  no  incident  to  destrf)y  or  diminish 
those  flattering  prospects,  until  about  noon  of  the 
14th  day  from  that  of  our  departure,  when  a  small 
schooner  was  discovered  standing  toward  us,  with 
her  deck  full  of  men,  and  as  she  approached  us 
from  her  suspicious  appearance  there  was  not  a 
doubt  in  the  minds  of  any  on  board,  but  that  she 
was  a  Pirate.  When  within  a  few  yards  of  us,  they 
gave  a  shout  and  our  decks  were  instantly  crowded 
with  the  motley  crew  of  desperadoes,  armed  with 
weapons  of  almost  every  description  that  can  be 
mentioned,  and  with  which  they  commenced  their 
barbarous  work  by  unmercifully  beating  and  maim- 
ing all  on  board  except  myself.  As  a  retreat  was 
impossible,  and  finding  myself  surrounded  by 
wretches,  whose  yells,  oaths,  and  imprecations,  made 
them  more  resemble  demons  than  human-beings, 
I  fell  on  my  knees,  and  from  one  who  appeared 
to  have  the  command,  I  begged  for  mercy,  and  for 
permission  to  retire  to  the  cabin,  that  I  might  not  be 
either  the  subject  or  a  witness  of  the  murderous 
scene  that  I  had  but  little  doubt  was  about  to 
ensue.  The  privilege  was  not  refused  me.  The 
monster  In  human  shape  (for  such  was  then  his 
appearance)  conducted  me  by  the  hand  himself  to 
the  companlonway,  and  pointing  to  the  cabin  said 
to  me,  "Descend  and  remain  there  and  you  will  be 


THE  FEMALE  CAPTIVE  279 

perfectly  safe,  for  although  Pirates,  we  are  not 
barbarians  to  destroy  the  lives  of  innocent  females !" 
Saying  this  he  closed  the  companion  doors  and  left 
me  alone,  to  reflect  on  my  helpless  and  deplorable 
situation.  It  is  indeed  impossible  for  me,  brother, 
to  paint  to  your  imagination  what  were  my  feelings 
at  this  moment;  being  the  only  female  on  board, 
my  terror  It  cannot  be  expected  was  much  less  than 
that  of  the  poor  devoted  mariners!  I  resigned  my 
life  to  the  Being  who  had  lent  it,  and  did  not  fail 
to  improve  the  opportunity  (which  I  thought  It  not 
improbable  might  be  my  last,  to  call  on  Him  for 
that  protection,  which  my  situation  so  much  at  this 
moment  required — and  never  shall  I  be  persuaded 
but  that  my  prayers  were  heard. 

While  I  remained  In  this  situation,  by  the  sound 
of  the  clashing  of  swords,  attended  by  shrieks  and 
dismal  groans,  I  could  easily  Imagine  what  was  go- 
ing on  on  deck,  and  anticipated  nothing  better  than 
the  total  destruction  by  the  Pirates  of  the  lives  of 
all  on  board.  After  I  had  remained  about  one  hour 
and  a  half  alone  in  the  cabin,  and  all  had  become 
silent  on  deck,  the  cabin  doors  were  suddenly  thrown 
open,  and  eight  or  ten  of  the  Piratical  crew  en- 
tered, preceded  by  him  whom  I  had  suspected  to  be 
their  leader,  and  from  whom  I  had  received  assur- 
ances that  I  should  not  be  injured.  By  him  I  was 
again  addressed  and  requested  to  banish  all  fears 
of  personal  Injury — that  they  sought  only  for  the 
money  which  they  suspected  to  be  secreted  some- 


280  GREAT  PIRATE  STORIi:S 

where  on  board  the  vessel,  and  which  they  were 
determined  to  have,  although  unable  to  extort  a 
disclosure  of  the  place  of  its  concealment  by  threats 
and  violence  from  the  crew.  The  Pirates  now  com- 
menced a  thorough  search  throughout  the  cabin, 
the  trunks  and  chests  belonging  to  the  captain  and 
mate  were  broken  open,  and  rifled  of  their  most 
valuable  contents — nor  did  my  baggage  and  stores 
meet  with  any  better  fate,  indeed  this  was  a  loss 
which  at  this  moment  caused  me  but  little  uneasi- 
ness. I  felt  that  my  life  was  in  too  much  jeopardy 
to  lament  in  any  degree  the  loss  of  my  worldly 
goods,  surrounded  as  I  was  by  a  gang  of  the  most 
ferocious  looking  villains  that  my  eyes  ever  before 
beheld,  of  different  complexions,  and  each  with  a 
drawn  weapon  in  his  hand,  some  of  them  fresh 
crimsoned  with  the  blood  (as  I  then  supposed)  of 
my  murdered  countrymen  and  whose  horrid  impre- 
cations and  oaths  were  enough  to  appal  the  bravest 
heart ! 

Their  search  for  money  proving  unsuccessful 
(with  the  exception  of  a  few  dollars  which  they 
found  in  the  captain's  chest)  they  returned  to  the 
deck,  and  setting  sail  on  the  sloop,  steered  her  for 
the  place  of  their  rendezvous,  a  small  island  or  key 
not  far  distant  I  imagine  from  the  island  of  Cuba, 
where  we  arrived  the  day  after  our  capture.  The 
island  was  nearly  barren,  producing  nothing  but  a 
few  scattered  mangroves  and  shrubs,  interspersed 
with  the  miserable  huts  of  these  outlaws  of  civiliza- 


THE  FEMALE  CAPTIVE  281 

tion,  among  whom  power  formed  the  only  law,  and 
every  species  of  iniquity  was  here  carried  to  an 
extent  of  which  no  person  who  had  not  witnessed  a 
similar  degree  of  pollution,  could  form  the  most 
distant  idea. 

As  soon  as  the  sloop  was  brought  to  an 
anchor,  the  hatches  were  thrown  off  and  the  unfor- 
tunate crew  ordered  on  deck — a  command  which  to 
my  surprise  was  instantly  obeyed,  as  I  had  harboured 
strong  suspicions  that  they  had  been  all  murdered 
by  the  Pirates  the  day  previous.  The  poor  devoted 
victims,  although  alive,  exhibited  shocking  proofs 
of  the  barbarity  with  which  they  had  been  treated 
by  the  unmerciful  Pirates;  their  bodies  exhibiting 
deep  wounds  and  bruises  too  horrible  for  me  to 
attempt  to  describe !  Yet,  however  great  had  been 
their  sufferings,  their  lives  had  been  spared  only  to 
endure  still  greater  torments.  Being  strongly 
pinioned  they  were  forced  into  a  small  leaky  boat 
and  rowed  on  shore,  which  we  having  reached  and 
a  division  of  the  plunder  having  been  made  by  the 
Pirates,  a  scene  of  the  most  bloody  and  wanton 
barbarity  ensued,  the  bare  recollection  of  which  still 
chills  my  blood.  Having  first  divested  them  of 
every  article  of  clothing  but  their  shirts  and 
trousers,  with  swords,  knives,  axes,  etc.,  they  fell 
on  the  unfortunate  crew  of  the  Eliza  Ann  with  the 
ferocity  of  cannibals.  In  vain  did  they  beg  for 
mercy  and  intreat  of  their  murderers  to  spare  their 
lives.      In    vain    did    poor    capt.    S.    attempt    to 


282  GREAT  PIRATE  STORIES 

touch  their  fcclinfjjs  and  to  move  them  to  pity  by 
representing  to  them  the  situation  of  his  innocent 
family;  that  he  had  a  wife  and  three  small  children 
at  home  wholly  de[)endcnt  on  him  for  support.  But, 
alas,  the  poor  man  intreated  in  vain.  His  appeal 
was  to  monsters  possessing  hearts  callous  to  the 
feelings  of  humanity.  Having  received  a  heavy 
blow  from  one  with  an  ax,  he  snapped  the  cords 
with  which  he  was  bound,  and  attempted  an  escape 
by  flight,  but  was  met  by  another  of  the  ruffians, 
who  plunged  a  knife  or  dirk  to  his  heart.  I  stood 
near  him  at  this  moment  and  was  covered  with  his 
blood.  On  receiving  the  fatal  wound  he  gave  a 
single  groan  and  fell  lifeless  at  my  feet.  Nor  were 
the  remainder  of  the  crew  more  fortunate.  The 
mate  while  on  his  knees  imploring  mercy,  and 
promising  to  accede  to  anything  that  the  vile  as- 
sassins should  require  of  him,  on  condition  of  his 
life  being  spared,  received  a  blow  from  a  club, 
which  instantaneously  put  a  period  to  his  existence! 
Dear  brother,  need  I  attempt  to  paint  to  your 
imagination  my  feelings  at  this  awful  moment? 
Will  it  not  suffice  for  me  to  say  that  I  have  described 
to  you  a  scene  of  horror  which  I  was  compelled  to 
witness!  and  with  the  expectation  too  of  being  the 
next  victim  selected  by  these  ferocious  monsters, 
whose  thirst  for  blood  appeared  to  be  insatiable. 
There  appeared  now  but  one  alternative  left  me, 
which  was  to  offer  up  a  prayer  to  Heaven  for  the 
protection  of  that  Being  who  has  power  to  stay  the 


THE  FEMALE  CAPTIVE  283 

assassin's  hand,  and  "who  is  able  to  do  exceeding 
abundantly  above  what  we  can  ask  or  think," — 
sincerely  in  the  language  of  scripture  I  can  say,  "I 
found  trouble  and  sorrow,  then  called  I  upon  the 
name  of  the  Lord." 

I  remained  on  my  knees  until  the  inhuman 
wretches  had  completed  their  murderous  work,  and 
left  none  but  myself  to  lament  the  fate  of  those  who 
but  twenty-four  hours  before,  were  animated  with 
the  pleasing  prospects  of  a  quick  passage,  and  a 
speedy  return  to  the  bosoms  of  their  families !  The 
wretch  by  whom  I  had  been  thrice  promised  pro- 
tection, and  who  seemed  to  reign  chief  among  them, 
again  approached  me  with  hands  crimsoned  with 
the  blood  of  my  murdered  countrymen,  and,  with  a 
savage  smile,  once  more  repeated  his  assurances  that 
if  I  would  but  become  reconciled  to  my  situation, 
I  had  nothing  to  fear.  There  was  indeed  something 
truly  terrific  in  the  appearance  of  this  man,  or 
rather  monster  as  he  ought  to  be  termed.  He  was 
of  a  swarthy  complexion,  near  six  feet  in  height,  his 
eyes  were  large,  black  and  penetrating;  his  expres- 
sion was  remarkable,  and  when  silent,  his  looks  were 
sufficient  to  declare  his  meaning.  He  wore  around 
his  waist  a  leathern  belt,  to  which  was  suspended  a 
sword,  a  brace  of  pistols  and  a  dirk.  He  was  as  I 
was  afterward  informed  the  acknowledged  chief 
among  the  Pirates,  all  appeared  to  stand  in  awe  of 
him,  and  no  one  dared  to  disobey  his  commands. 
Such,    dear  brother,    was   the    character   who   had 


284  GREAT  PIRATE  STORIES 

promised  mc  protection  if  I  would  become  recon- 
ciled to  my  situation,  in  other  words,  subservient  to 
his  will.  But,  whatever  mi^ht  have  been  his  inten- 
tions, although  now  in  his  power,  without  a  visible 
friend  to  protect  mc,  yet  such  full  reliance  did  I 
place  in  the  Supreme  Being,  who  sees  and  knows 
all  things,  and  who  has  promised  his  protection  to 
the  faithful  in  the  hour  of  tribulation,  that  I  felt 
myself  in  a  less  degree  of  danger  than  you  or  any 
one  would  probably  imagine. 

As  the  day  drew  near  to  a  close,  I  was  conducted 
to  a  small  temporary  hut  or  cabin,  where  I  was  in- 
formed I  might  repose  peaceably  for  the  night, 
which  I  did  without  being  disturbed  by  any  one. 
This  was  another  opportunity  that  I  did  not  suffer 
to  pass  unimproved  to  pour  out  my  soul  to  that 
Being,  who  had  already  given  me  reasons  to  believe 
that  he  did  not  say  to  the  house  of  Jacob,  seek  you 
me  in  vain.  Oh!  that  all  sincere  Christians  would 
in  every  difficulty  make  Him  their  refuge;  He  is  a 
hopeful  stay. 

Early  in  the  morning  ensuing  I  was  visited  by  the 
wretch  alone  whom  I  had  viewed  as  chief  of  the 
murderous  band.  As  he  entered  and  cast  his  eyes 
upon  me,  his  countenance  relaxed  from  its  usual 
ferocity  to  a  feigned  smile.  Without  speaking  a 
word,  he  seated  himself  on  a  bench  that  the  cabin 
contained,  and  drawing  a  table  toward  him,  leaned 
upon  it  resting  his  cheek  upon  his  hand.  His  eyes 
for    some    moments    were    fixed    in    stedfast    gaze 


THE  FEMALE  CAPTIVE  285 

upon  the  ground,  while  his  whole  soul  appeared  to 
be  devoured  by  the  most  diabolical  thoughts.  In  a 
few  moments  he  arose  from  his  seat  and  hastily 
traversed  the  hut,  apparently  in  extreme  agitation, 
and  not  unfrequently  fixing  his  eyes  stedfastly  upon 
me.  But,  that  Providence,  which  while  it  protects 
the  innocent,  never  suffers  the  wicked  to  go  un- 
punished, interposed  to  save  me  and  to  deliver  me 
from  the  hands  of  this  remorseless  villain,  at  the 
very  instant  when  in  all  probability  he  intended  to 
have  destroyed  my  happiness  forever. 

On  a  sudden  the  Pirate's  bugle  was  sounded, 
which  (as  I  was  afterward  informed)  was  the  usual 
signal  of  a  sail  in  sight.  The  ruffian  monster  there- 
upon without  uttering  a  word  left  my  apartment, 
and  hastened  with  all  speed  to  the  place  of  their 
general  rendezvous  on  such  occasions.  Flattered  by 
the  pleasing  hope  that  Providence  might  be  about 
to  complete  her  work,  of  mercy,  and  was  conducting 
to  the  dreary  island  some  friendly  aid,  to  rescue  me 
from  my  perilous  situation,  I  mustered  courage  to 
ascend  to  the  roof  of  my  hovel,  to  discover  if  pos- 
sible the  cause  of  the  alarm,  and  what  might  be  the 
issue. 

A  short  distance  from  the  island  I  espied  a  sail 
which  appeared  to  be  lying  to,  and  a  few  miles 
therefrom  to  the  windward,  another,  which  ap- 
peared to  be  bearing  down  under  a  press  of  sail 
for  the  former — in  a  moment  the  whole  gang  of 
Pirates,  with  the  exception  of  four,  were  in  their 


286  GRKAT  IMKATh:  STORIES 

boats,  and  with  their  oars,  etc.,  were  making  every 
possible  exertion  to  reach  the  vessel  nearest  to 
their  islanti;  but  by  the  time  they  had  effected  their 
object  the  more  distant  vessel  (which  proved  to  be 
a  British  sloop  of  war  disguised)  had  approached 
them  within  fair  gunshot,  and  probably  knowing  or 
suspecting  their  characters,  opened  their  ports  and 
commenced  a  destructive  fire  upon  them.  The 
Pirates  were  now,  as  nearly  as  I  could  judge  with 
the  naked  eye,  thrown  into  great  confusion.  Every 
possible  exertion  appeared  to  have  been  made  by 
them  to  reach  the  island,  and  escape  from  their 
pursuers.  Some  jumped  from  their  boats  and 
attempted  to  gain  the  shore  by  swimming,  but  these 
were  shot  in  the  water,  and  the  remainder  who  re- 
mained in  their  boats  were  very  soon  after  over- 
taken and  captured  by  two  well  manned  boats 
dispatched  from  the  sloop  of  war  for  that  purpose; 
and,  soon  had  I  the  satisfaction  to  see  them  all  on 
board  of  the  sloop,  and  in  the  power  of  those  from 
whom  I  was  fully  satisfied  that  they  would  meet 
with  the  punishment  due  to  their  crimes. 

In  describing  the  characters  of  this  Piratical  band 
of  robbers,  I  have,  dear  brother,  represented  them 
as  wretches  of  the  most  frightful  and  ferocious 
appearance — blood-thirst}^  monsters,  who,  in  acts  of 
barbarity  ought  only  to  be  ranked  with  cannibals, 
who  delight  to  feast  on  human  flesh.  Rendered 
desperate  by  their  crimes  and  aware  that  they 
should  find  no  mercy  if  so  unfortunate  as  to  fall  into 


THE  FEMALE  CAPTIVE  287 

the  hands  of  those  to  whom  they  show  no  mercy, 
to  prevent  a  possibility  of  detection,  and  the  just 
execution  of  the  laws  wantonly  destroy  the  lives  of 
every  one,  however  innocent,  who  may  be  so  unfor- 
tunate as  to  fall  into  their  power — such,  indeed, 
brother,  is  the  true  character  of  the  band  of  Pirates 
(to  the  number  of  30  or  40)  by  whom  it  was  my 
misfortune  to  be  captured,  with  the  exception  of  a 
single  one,  who  possessed  a  countenance  less  savage, 
and  had  the  appearance  of  possessing  a  heart  less 
callous  to  the  feelings  of  humanity.  Fortunately 
for  me,  as  Divine  Providence  ordered,  this  person 
was  one  of  the  four  who  remained  on  the  island, 
and  on  whom  the  command  involved  after  the  un- 
expected disaster  which  had  deprived  them  forever 
of  so  great  a  portion  of  their  comrades.  From  this 
man  (after  the  capture  of  the  murderous  tyrant  to 
whose  commands  he  had  been  compelled  to  yield) 
I  received  the  kindest  treatment,  and  assurances 
that  I  should  be  restored  to  liberty  and  to  my 
friends  when  an  opportunity  should  present,  or 
when  it  could  be  consistently  done  with  the  safety 
of  their  lives  and  liberty. 

This  unhappy  man  (for  such  he  declared  himself 
to  be)  took  an  opportunity  to  indulge  me  with  a 
partial  relation  of  a  few  of  the  most  extraordinary 
incidents  of  his  life.  He  declared  himself  an 
Englishman  by  birth,  but  his  real  name  and  place  of 
nativity  was  he  said  a  secret  he  would  never  dis- 
close!   "although    I    must    (said   he)    acknowledge 


288  GREAT  PIRATE  STORIES 

myself  by  profession  a  Pirate,  yet  I  can  boast  of 
respectable  parentage,  and  the  time  once  was  when 
I  myself  sustained  an  unimpeachable  character. 
Loss  of  property,  through  the  treachery  of  those 
whom  I  cf)nsidered  friends,  and  in  whom  I  had 
placed  implicit  confidence,  was  what  first  led  me 
to  and  induced  me  to  prefer  this  mode  of  life,  to 
any  of  a  less  criminal  nature — but,  although  I  vol- 
untarily became  the  associate  of  a  band  of  wretches 
the  most  wicked  and  unprincipled  perhaps  on  earth, 
yet  I  solemnly  declare  that  I  have  not  in  any  one 
instance  personally  deprived  an  innocent  fellow 
creature  of  life.  It  was  an  act  of  barbarity  at  which 
my  heart  ever  recoiled,  and  against  which  I  always 
protested.  With  the  property  I  always  insisted  we 
ought  to  be  satisfied,  without  the  destruction  of  the 
lives  of  such  who  were  probably  the  fathers  of 
families,  and  who  had  never  offended  us.  But  our 
gang  was  as  you  may  suppose  chiefly  composed  of 
and  governed  by  men  without  principle,  who  ap- 
peared to  delight  in  the  shedding  of  blood,  and 
whose  only  excuse  has  been  that  by  acting  with  too 
much  humanity  in  sparing  life,  they  might  thereby 
be  exposed  and  themselves  arraigned  to  answer  for 
their  crimes  at  an  earthly  tribunal.  You  can  have 
no  conception,  madam  (continued  he),  of  the  im- 
mense property  that  has  been  piratically  captured, 
and  of  the  number  of  lives  that  have  been  destroyed 
by  this  gang  alone,  and  all  without  the  loss  of  a 
single  one  on  our  part  until  yesterday,  when  by  an 


THE  FEMALE  CAPTIVE  289 

unexpected  circumstance  our  number  has  been  re- 
duced as  you  see  from  thirty-five  to  four!  This 
island  has  not  been  our  constant  abiding  place,  but 
the  bodies  of  such  as  have  suffered  here  have  always 
been  conveyed  a  considerable  distance  from  the 
shore,  and  thrown  into  the  sea,  where  they  were 
probably  devoured  by  the  sharks,  as  not  a  single  one 
has  ever  been  known  afterward  to  drift  on  our 
shores.  The  property  captured  has  not  been  long 
retained  on  this  island,  but  shipped  to  a  neighboring 
port,  where  we  have  an  agent  to  dispose  of  it. 

"Of  the  great  number  of  vessels  captured  by  us 
(continued  he)  you  are  the  first  and  only  female 
that  has  been  so  unfortunate  as  to  fall  into  our 
hands — and  from  the  moment  that  I  first  saw  you 
in  our  power  (well  knowing  the  brutal  disposition 
of  him  whom  we  acknowledged  our  chief)  I 
trembled  for  your  safety,  and  viewed  you  as  one 
deprived  perhaps  of  the  protection  of  a  husband  or 
brother,  to  become  the  victim  of  an  unpitying 
wretch,  whose  pretended  regard  for  your  sex,  and 
his  repeated  promises  of  protection,  were  hypo- 
critical— a  mere  mask  to  lull  your  fears  until  he 
could  effect  your  ruin.  His  hellish  designs,  agree- 
able to  his  own  declarations,  would  have  been 
carried  into  effect  the  very  morning  that  he  last 
visited  you,  had  not  an  all-wise  Providence  inter- 
fered to  save  you — and  so  sensible  am  I  that  the 
unexpected  circumstance  of  his  capture,  as  well  as 
that  of  the  most  of  our  gang,  as  desperate  and  un- 


290  GREAT  PIKATJ':  SIORIKS 

principled  as  himself,  must  have  been  by  order  of 
I  lim,  from  whose  all-seeing  eye  no  evil  transaction 
can  be  hidden,  that  were  I  so  disposed  I  should  be 
deterred  from  doing  you  any  injury  through  fear  of 
meeting  with  a  similar  fate.  Nor  do  my  three  re- 
maining companions  differ  with  me  in  opinion,  and 
we  all  now  most  solemnly  pledge  ourselves,  that  so 
long  as  you  remain  in  our  power,  you  shall  have 
nothing  to  complain  of  but  the  deprivation  of  the 
society  of  those  whose  company  no  doubt  would  be 
more  agreeable  to  you;  and  as  soon  as  it  can  be 
done  consistently  with  our  own  safety,  you  shall  be 
conveyed  to  a  place  from  which  you  may  obtain  a 
passage  to  your  friends.  We  have  now  become  too 
few  in  number  to  hazard  a  repetition  of  our 
Piratical  robberies,  and  not  only  this,  but  some  of 
our  captured  companions  to  save  their  own  lives, 
may  prove  treacherous  enough  to  betray  us;  we  are 
therefore  making  preparation  to  leave  this  island 
for  a  place  of  more  safety,  when  you,  madam,  shall 
be  conveyed  and  set  at  liberty  as  I  have  promised 
you." 

Dear  brother,  if  you  before  doubted,  is  not  the 
declaration  of  this  man  (which  I  have  recorded  as 
correctly  as  my  recollection  will  admit  of)  sufficient 
to  satisfy  you  that  I  owe  my  life  and  safety  to  the 
interposition  of  a  Divine  Providence!  Oh,  yes! 
surely  it  is — and  I  feel  my  insufficiency  to  thank  and 
praise  my  Heavenly  Protector  as  I  ought,  for  his 
loving  kindness  in  preserving  me  from  the  evil  de- 


THE  FEMALE  CAPTIVE  291 

signs  of  wicked  men,   and  for  finally  restoring  me 
to  liberty  and  to  my  friends ! 

I  cannot  praise  Him  as  I  would, 
But  He  is  merciful  and  good. 

From  this  moment  every  preparation  was  made 
by  the  Pirates  to  remove  from  the  island.  The 
small  quantity  of  stores  and  goods  which  remained 
on  hand  (principally  of  the  Ann  Eliza's  cargo)  was 
either  buried  on  the  island,  or  conveyed  away  In 
their  boats  in  the  night  to  some  place  unknown  to 
me.  The  last  thing  done  was  to  demolish  their 
temporary  dwellings,  which  was  done  so  effectually 
as  not  to  suffer  a  vestige  of  any  thing  to  remain  that 
could  have  led  to  a  discovery  that  the  island  had 
ever  been  inhabited  by  such  a  set  of  beings.  Eleven 
days  from  that  of  the  capture  of  the  Ann  Eliza 
(the  Pirates  having  previously  put  on  board  several 
bags  of  dollars,  which  from  the  appearance  of  the 
former,  I  judged  had  been  concealed  in  the  earth) 
I  was  ordered  to  embark  with  them,  but  for  what 
place  I  then  knew  not. 

About  midnight  I  was  landed  on  the  rocky  shores 
of  an  island  which  they  informed  me  was  Cuba, 
they  furnished  me  with  a  few  hard  biscuit  and  a 
bottle  of  water,  and  directed  me  to  proceed  early  in 
the  morning  in  a  northeast  direction,  to  a  house 
about  a  mile  distant,  where  I  was  told  I  would  be 
well  treated  and  be  furnished  with  a  guide  that 
would    conduct    me    to    Mantansies.     With    these 


292  GREAT  PI  RATI':  STORIES 

directions  they  left  me,  and  I  never  saw  them  more. 
At  daybreak  I  set  out  in  search  of  the  house  to 
which  I  had  been  directed  by  the  Pirates,  and  which 
I  had  the  good  fortune  to  reach  in  safety  in  about 
an  hour   and   a   half.      It  was   a   humble   tenement 
thatched  with  canes,  without   any   flooring  but  the 
ground,   and  was  tenanted  by  a  man   and  his  wife 
only,  from  whom  I  met  with  a  welcome  reception, 
and  by  whom  I  was  treated  with  much  hospitality. 
Although    Spaniards,    the    man    could    speak    and 
understand   enough    English   to    converse   with   me, 
and  to  learn  by  what  means  I  had  been  brought  so 
unexpectedly   alone   and   unprotected  to  his  house. 
Though    it   was    the    same    to    which    I    had    been 
directed  by  the  Pirates,  yet  he  declared  that  so  far 
from  being  in  any  way  connected  with  them  in  their 
Piratical  robberies,  or  enjoying  any  portion  of  their 
ill-gotten  gain,  no  one  could  hold  them  in  greater 
abhorrence.     Whether  he  was  sincere  in  these  dec- 
larations or  not,  is  well  known  to  Him  whom  the 
lying  tongue  cannot  deceive — it  is  but  justice  to  them 
to  say  that  by  both  the  man  and  his  wife   I   was 
treated   with  kindness,    and   it   was  with   apparent 
emotions  of  pity  that  they  listened  to  the  tale  of  my 
sufferings.    By  their  earnest  request  I  remained  with 
them  until  the  morning  ensuing,  when  I  set  out  on 
foot  for  Mantansies,  accompanied  by  the  Spaniard 
who  had  kindly  offered  to  conduct  me  to  that  place, 
which  we  reached   about  seven  in  the   evening  of 
the  same  day. 


THE  FEMALE  CAPTIVE  293 

At  Mantansies  I  found  many  Americans  and 
Europeans,  by  whom  I  was  kindly  treated,  and  who 
proffered  their  services  to  restore  me  to  my  friends, 
but  as  there  were  no  vessels  bound  direct  from 
thence  to  Antigua  or  St.  Johns,  I  was  persuaded  to 
take  passage  for  Jamaica,  where  it  was  the  opinion 
of  my  friends  I  might  obtain  a  passage  more 
speedily  for  one  or  the  other  place,  and  where  I 
safely  arrived  after  a  pleasant  passage  of  four  days. 

The  most  remarkable  and  unexpected  circum- 
stance of  my  extraordinary  adventures,  I  have  yet, 
dear  brother,  to  relate.  Soon  after  my  arrival  at 
Jamaica,  the  Authority  having  been  made  ac- 
quainted with  the  circumstance  of  my  recent  capture 
by  the  Pirates,  and  the  extraordinary  circumstance 
which  produced  my  liberation,  requested  that  I 
might  be  conducted  to  the  Prison,  to  see  if  I  could 
among  a  number  of  Pirates  recently  committed, 
recognize  any  of  those  by  whom  I  had  been  cap- 
tured. I  was  accordingly  attended  by  two  or  three 
gentlemen,  and  two  young  ladies  (who  had  politely 
offered  to  accompany  me)  to  the  prison  apartment, 
on  entering  which,  I  not  only  instantly  recognized 
among  a  number  therein  confined,  the  identical  ' 
savage  monster  of  whom  I  have  had  so  much  occa- 
sion to  speak  (the  Pirates'  Chief)  but  the  most  of 
those  who  had  composed  his  gang,  and  who  were 
captured  with  him ! 

The    sudden    and   unexpected    introduction    into 
their  apartment  of  one,  whom  they  had  probably 


294  (iRJlAT  PJKA'il-:  STORIES 

in  their  minds  numlKTcd  with  the  victims  of  their 
wanton  barbarity,  produced  uncjuesticmably  on  their 
minds  not  an  inconsi(leral)le  decree  of  liorror  as  well 
as  surprise!  and,  considering  their  condemnation 
now  certain,  they  no  doubt  heaped  curses  upt^n  their 
more  fortunate  companions,  for  sparing  the  life  and 
setting  at  liberty  one  whom  an  all-wise  Providence 
had  conducted  to  and  placed  in  a  situation  to  bear 
witness  to  their  unprecedented  barbarity. 

Government  having  through  me  obtained  the 
necessary  proof  of  the  guilt  of  these  merciless 
wretches,  after  a  fair  and  impartial  trial  they  were 
all  condemned  to  suffer  the  punishment  due  to  their 
crimes,  and  seven  ordered  for  immediate  execution, 
one  of  whom  was  the  barbarian  their  chief.  After 
the  conviction  and  condemnation  of  this  wretch, 
in  hopes  of  eluding  the  course  of  justice,  he  made 
(as  I  was  informed)  an  attempt  upon  his  own  life, 
by  inflicting  upon  himself  deep  wounds  with  a  knife 
which  he  had  concealed  for  that  purpose;  but  in  this 
he  was  disappointed,  the  wounds  not  proving  so 
fatal  as  he  probably  anticipated. 

I  never  saw  this  hardened  villain  or  any  of  his 
equally  criminal  companions  after  their  condemna- 
tion, although  strongly  urged  to  witness  their  execu- 
tion, and  am  therefore  indebted  to  one  who  daily 
visited  them,  for  the  information  of  their  behavior 
from  that  period  until  that  of  their  execution; 
which,  as  regarded  the  former,  I  was  informed  was 
extremely  impenitent — that  while  proceeding  to  the 


THE  FEMALE  CAPTIVE  295 

place  of  ignominy  and  death,  he  talked  with  shocking 
unconcern,  hinting  that  by  being  instrumental  in  the 
destruction  of  so  many  lives,  he  had  become  too 
hardened  and  familiar  with  death  to  feel  much  in- 
timidated at  its  approach !  He  was  attended  to 
the  place  of  execution  by  a  Roman  Catholic  Priest, 
who  it  was  said  labored  to  convince  him  of  the 
atrociousness  of  his  crimes,  but  he  seemed  deaf  to 
all  admonition  or  exhortation,  and  appeared  in- 
sensible to  the  hope  of  happiness  or  fear  of  torment 
in  a  future  state — and  so  far  from  exhibiting  a 
single  symptom  of  penitence,  declared  that  he  knew 
of  but  one  thing  for  which  he  had  cause  to  reproach 
himself,  which  was  in  sparing  my  life  and  not  order- 
ing me  to  be  butchered  as  the  others  had  been! 
How  awful  was  the  end  of  the  life  of  this  miserable 
criminal!  He  looked  not  with  harmony,  regard,  or 
a  single  penitent  feeling  toward  one  human  being 
in  the  last  agonies  of  an  ignominious  death. 

After  remaining  nine  days  at  Jamaica,  I  was  so 
fortunate  as  to  obtain  a  passage  with  Capt.  Ells- 
more,  direct  for  St.  Johns — the  thoughts  of  once 
more  returning  home  and  of  so  soon  joining  my 
anxious  friends,  when  I  could  have  an  opportunity 
to  communicate  to  my  aged  parents,  to  a  beloved 
sister  and  a  large  circle  of  acquaintances,  the  sad 
tale  of  the  misfortunes  which  had  attended  me  since 
I  bid  them  adieu,  would  have  been  productive  of 
the  most  pleasing  sensations,  had  they  not  been 
interrupted  by  the  melancholy  reflection  that  I  was 


296  GRKAT  PIRATE  STORIES 

the  bearer  of  tidings  of  the  most  heart-rending 
nature,  to  the  bereaved  families  of  those  unfor- 
tunate husbands  and  parents  who  had  in  my  presence 
fallen  victims  to  Piratical  barbarity.  Thankful 
should  I  have  been  had  the  distressing  duty  fell  to 
the  lot  of  some  one  of  less  sensibility — but,  unerring 
Providence  had  ordered  otherwise.  We  arrived 
safe  at  our  port  of  destination  after  a  somewhat 
boisterous  passage  of  i8  days.  I  found  my 
friends  all  well,  but  the  effects  produced  on  their 
minds  by  the  relation  of  the  distressing  incidents 
and  adverse  fortune  that  had  attended  me  since 
my  departure,  I  shall  not  attempt  to  describe — and 
much  less  can  you  expect,  brother,  that  I  should 
attempt  a  description  of  the  feelings  of  the  afflicted 
widow  and  fatherless  child,  who  first  received  from 
me  the  melancholy  tidings  that  they  were  so ! 

Thus,  brother,  have  I  furnished  you  with  as 
minute  a  detail  of  the  sad  misfortunes  that  have 
attended  me,  in  my  intended  passage  to  Antigua,  in 
February  and  March  last,  as  circumstances  will 
admit  of — and  here  permit  me  once  more  to  repeat 
the  enqulr}'^ — is  it  not  sufficient  to  satisfy  you  and 
every  reasonable  person,  that  I  owe  my  life  and 
liberty  to  the  interposition  of  a  Divine  Providence? 
— so  fully  persuaded  am  I  of  this,  dear  brother, 
and  of  my  great  obligations  to  that  Supreme  Being 
who  turned  not  away  my  prayer  nor  his  mercy  from 
me,  that  I  am  determined  to  engage  with  my  whole 
heart  to  serve  Him  the  residue  of  my  days  on  earth. 


THE  FEMALE  CAPTIVE  297 

by  the  aid  of  his  heavenly  grace — and  invite  all  who 
profess  to  fear  Him  (should  a  single  doubt  remain 
on  their  minds)  to  come  and  hear  what  he  hath 
done  for  me ! 

I  am,  dear  brother,   affectionately  yours, 

LucRETiA  Parker." 


THE  PASSING  OF  MOGUL  MACKENZIE 
The  Last  of  the  North  Atlantic  Pirates  * 

Arthur  Hunt  Chute 

IN  the  farther  end  of  the  Bay  of  Fundy,  about  a 
mile  off  from  the  Nova  Scotian  coast,  is  the  Isle 
of  I  laut.  It  is  a  strange  rocky  island  that  rises 
several  hundred  feet  sheer  out  of  the  sea,  without 
any  bay  or  inlets.  A  landing  can  only  be  effected 
there  in  the  calmest  weather;  and  on  account  of  the 
tremendous  ebb  of  the  Fundy  tides,  which  rise  and 
fall  sixty  feet  every  twelve  hours,  the  venturesome 
explorer  cannot  long  keep  his  boat  moored  against 
the  precipitous  cliflfs. 

Because  of  this  inaccessibility  little  is  known  of 
the  solitary  island.  Within  its  rampart  walls  of 
rock  they  say  there  is  a  green  valley,  and  in  its  cen- 
ter is  a  fathomless  lake,  where  the  Micmac  Indians 
used  to  bury  their  dead,  and  hence  its  dread  ap- 
pellation of  the  "Island  of  the  Dead."  Beyond 
these  bare  facts  nothing  more  is  certain  about  the 
secret  valley  and  the  haunted  lake.  Many  wild  and 
fabulous  descriptions  are  current,  but  they  are 
merely  the  weavings  of  fancy. 

Sometimes  on  a  stormy  night  the  unhappy  navi- 
gators of  the  North  Channel  miss  the  coast  lights 

*  From  Blackivood's  Magazine. 

298 


PASSING  OF  MOGUL  MACKENZIE     299 

in  the  fog,  and  out  from  the  Isle  of  Haut  a  gentle 
undertow  flirts  with  their  bewildered  craft.  Then 
little  by  little  they  are  gathered  into  a  mighty  cur- 
rent against  which  all  striving  is  in  vain,  and  in  the 
white  foam  among  the  Iron  cliffs  their  ship  is 
pounded  into  splinters.  The  quarry  which  she 
gathers  in  so  softly  at  first  and  so  fiercely  at  last, 
however,  is  soon  snatched  away  from  the  siren 
shore.  The  ebb-tide  bears  every  sign  of  wreckage 
far  out  into  the  deeps  of  the  Atlantic,  and  not  a 
trace  remains  of  the  ill-starred  vessel  or  her  crew. 
But  one  of  the  boats  in  the  fishing  fleet  never  comes 
home,  and  from  lonely  huts  on  the  coast  reproachful 
eyes  are  cast  upon  the  "Island  of  the  Dead." 

On  the  long  winter  nights,  when  the  "boys" 
gather  about  the  fire  in  Old  Steele's  General  Stores 
at  Hall's  Harbor,  their  hard  gray  life  becomes 
bright  for  a  spell.  When  a  keg  of  hard  cider  is 
flowing  freely  the  grim  fishermen  forget  their  taci- 
turnity, the  ice  is  melted  from  their  speech,  and  the 
floodgates  of  their  souls  pour  forth.  But  ever  in 
the  background  of  their  talk,  unforgotten,  like  a 
haunting  shadow,  is  the  "Island  of  the  Dead."  Of 
their  weirdest  and  most  blood-curdling  yarns  it  is 
always  the  center;  and  when  at  last,  with  uncertain 
steps,  they  leave  the  empty  keg  and  the  dying  fire 
to  turn  homeward  through  the  drifting  snow,  fear- 
ful and  furtive  glances  are  cast  to  where  the  island 
looms  up  like  a  ghostly  sentinel  from  the  sea. 
Across  its  high  promontory  the   Northern  Lights 


300  GREAT  PIRATE  STORIES 

scintillate  and  bla/c,  and  out  of  its  moving  bright- 
ness the  terrified  fishermen  behold  the  war-canoes  of 
dead  Indians  freighted  with  their  redskin  braves; 
the  forms  of  ca'ur  dc  hois  and  desperate  Frenchmen 
swinging  down  the  sky-line  in  a  ghastly  snake-dance; 
the  shapes  and  spars  of  ships  long  since  forgotten 
from  the  "Missing  List";  and  always,  most  dread- 
inspiring  of  them  all,  the  distress  signals  from  the 
sinking  ship  of  Mogul  Mackenzie  and  his  pirate 
crew. 

Captain  Mogul  Mackenzie  was  the  last_of  the 
pirates  to  scourge  the  North  Atlantic  seaboard. 
He  came  from  that  school  of  freebooters  that  was 
let  loose  by  the  American  Civil  War.  With  a  let- 
ter of  marque  from  the  Confederate  States,  he 
sailed  the  seas  to  prey  on  Yankee  shipping.  He  and 
his  fellow-privateers  were  so  thorough  in  their  work 
of  destruction,  that  the  Mercantile  Marine  of  the 
United  States  was  ruined  for  a  generation  to  come. 
When  the  war  was  over  the  defeated  South  called 
off  her  few  remaining  bloodhounds  on  the  sea.  But 
Mackenzie,  who  was  still  at  large,  had  drunkjtgo 
deeply  of  the  wine  of  a  wild,  free  life.  He  did  not 
return  to  lay  down  his  arms,  but  began  on  a  course 
of  shameless  piracy.  He  lived  only  a  few  months 
under  the  black  flag,  until  he  went  down  on  the  Isle 
of  Haut.  The  events  of  that  brief  and  thrilling 
period  are  unfortunately  obscure,  with  only  a  ray  of 
light  here  and  there.    But  the  story  of  his  passing  Is 


PASSING  OF  MOGUL  MACKENZIE     301 

the  most  weird  of  all  the  strange  yarns  that  are 
spun  about  the  "Island  of  the  Dead." 

In  May,  1865,  a  gruesome  discovery  was  made 
off  the  coast  of  Maine,  which  sent  a  chill  of  fear 
through  all  the  seaport  towns  of  New  England.  A 
whaler  bound  for  New  Bedford  was  coming  up 
Cape  Cod  one  night  long  after  dark.  There  was  no 
fog,  and  the  lights  of  approaching  vessels  could 
easily  be  discerned.  The  man  on  the  lookout  felt 
no  uneasiness  at  his  post,  when,  without  any  warn- 
ing of  bells  or  lights,  the  sharp  bow  of  a  brigantine 
suddenly  loomed  up,  hardly  a  ship's  length  in 
front. 

"What  the  blazes  are  you  trying  to  do?"  roared 
the  mate  from  the  bridge,  enraged  at  this  unheard- 
of  violation  of  the  right  of  way.  But  no  voice  an- 
swered his  challenge,  and  the  brigantine  went  swing- 
ing by,  with  all  her  sails  set  to  a  spanking  breeze. 
She  bore  directly  across  the  bow  of  the  whaler, 
which  just  grazed  her  stern  in  passing. 

"There's  something  rotten  on  board  there,"  said 
the  mate. 

"Ay,"  said  the  captain,  who  had  come  on  the 
bridge,  "there's  something  rotten  there  right 
enough.  Swing  your  helm  to  port,  and  get  after  the 
devils,"  he  ordered. 

"Ay,  ay,  sir!"  came  the  ready  response,  and  noth- 
ing loth  the  helmsman  changed  his  course  to  follow 
the  eccentric  craft.  She  was  evidently  bound  on 
some  secret  mission,   for  not  otherwise  would  she 


302  GREAT  PIRATE  STORIES. 

thus  tear  through  the  darkness  before  the  wind 
without  the  flicker  of  a  li^ht. 

The  whaler  was  the  swifter  of  the  two  ships,  and 
she  could  soon  have  overhauled  the  other;  but  fear- 
ing some  treachery,  the  captain  refrained  from  run- 
ning her  down  until  daylight.  All  night  long  she 
seemed  to  be  veering  her  course,  attempting  to  es- 
cape from  her  pursuer.  In  the  morning,  off  the  coast 
of  Maine,  she  turned  her  nose  directly  out  to  sea. 
Then  a  boat  was  lowered  from  the  whaler,  and 
rowed  out  to  intercept  the  oncoming  vessel.  When 
they  were  directly  in  her  course,  they  lay  on  their 
oars  and  waited.  The  brigantine  did  not  veer 
again,  but  came  steadily  on,  and  soon  the  whalemen 
were  alongside,  and  made  themselves  fast  to  a 
dinghy  which  she  had  in  tow.  A  few  minutes  of 
apprehensive  waiting  followed,  and  as  nothing  hap- 
pened, one  of  the  boldest  swung  himself  up  over  the 
tow-rope  on  to  the  deck.  He  was  followed  by  the 
others,  and  they  advanced  cautiously  with  drawn 
knives  and  pistols. 

Not  a  soul  was  to  be  seen,  and  the  men,  who  were 
brave  enough  before  a  charging  whale,  trembled 
with  fear.  The  wheel  and  the  lookout  were  alike 
deserted,  and  no  sign  of  life  could  be  discovered 
anywhere  below.  In  the  galley  were  the  embers  of  a 
dead  fire,  and  the  table  in  the  captain's  cabin  was 
spread  out  ready  for  a  meal  which  had  never  been 
eaten.  On  deck  everything  was  spick  and  span,  and 
not  the  slightest  evidence  of  a  storm  or  any  other 


PASSING  OF  MOGUL  MACKENZIE     303 

disturbance  could  be  found.  The  theory  of  a  dere- 
lict was  impossible.  Apparently  all  had  been  well 
on  board,  and  they  had  been  sailing  with  good 
weather,  when,  without  any  warning,  her  crew  had 
been  suddenly  snatched  away  by  some  dread  power. 

The  sailors  with  one  accord  agreed  that  it  was 
the  work  of  a  sea-serpent.  But  the  mate  had  no 
place  for  the  ordinary  superstitions  of  the  sea,  and 
he  still  scoured  the  hold,  expecting  at  any  minute  to 
encounter  a  dead  body  or  some  other  evil  evidence 
of  foul  play.  Nothing  more,  however,  was  found, 
and  the  mate  at  length  had  to  end  his  search  with 
the  unsatisfactory  conclusion  that  the  St.  Clare,  a 
brigantine  registered  from  Hartpool,  with  cargo  of 
lime,  had  been  abandoned  on  the  high  seas  for  no  ap- 
parent reason.  Her  skipper  had  taken  with  him  the 
ship's  papers,  and  had  not  left  a  single  clue  behind. 

A  crew  was  told  off  to  stand  by  the  St.  Clare  to 
bring  her  into  port,  and  the  others  climbed  into  the 
long-boat  to  row  back  to  the  whaler. 

"Just  see  if  there  is  a  name  on  that  there  dinghy, 
before  we  go,"  said  the  mate. 

An  exclamation  of  horror  broke  from  one  of  the 
men  as  he  read  on  the  bow  of  the  dinghy  the  name, 
Kanaijcha. 

The  faces  of  all  went  white  with  a  dire  alarm 
as  the  facts  of  the  mystery  suddenly  flashed  before 
them.  The  Kanawha  was  the  ship  in  which  Cap- 
tain Mogul  Mackenzie  had  made  himself  notorious 
as  a  privateersman.     Every  one  had  heard  her  awe- 


304  GREAT  PIRATE  STORIES 

inspiring  name,  and  every  Yankee  seafaring  man 
prayed  that  he  might  never  meet  her  on  the  seas. 
After  the  Alabama  was  sunk,  and  the  Talahassee 
was  withdrawn,  the  KanawJia  still  remained  to 
threaten  the  shipping  of  the  North.  Vov  a  long 
time  her  whereabouts  had  been  unknown,  and  then 
she  was  discovered  by  a  Federal  gunboat,  which 
gave  chase  and  fired  upon  her.  Without  returning 
fire,  she  raced  in  for  shelter  amongst  the  dangerous 
islands  off  Cape  Sable,  and  was  lost  in  the  fog.  Ru- 
mor had  it  that  she  ran  on  the  rocks  off  that  perilous 
coast,  and  sank  with  all  on  board.  As  time  went  by, 
and  there  was  no  more  sign  of  the  corsair,  the  ru- 
mor was  accepted  as  proven.  Men  began  to  spin 
yarns  in  the  forecastle  about  Mogul  Mackenzie, 
with  an  interest  that  was  tinged  with  its  former  fear. 
Skippers  were  beginning  to  feel  at  ease  again  on  the 
grim  waters,  when  suddenly,  like  a  bolt  from  the 
blue,  came  the  awful  news  of  the  discovery  of  the 
St.  Clare. 

Gunboats  put  off  to  scour  the  coast-line;  and 
again  with  fear  and  trembling  the  look-out  began  tc 
eye  suspiciously  every  new  sail  coming  up  on  the 
horizon. 

One  afternoon,  toward  the  end  of  May,  a 
schooner  came  tearing  into  Portland  harbor,  with 
all  her  canvas  crowded  on,  and  flying  distress  sig- 
nals. Her  skipper  said  that  off  the  island  of  Campa- 
bello  he  had  seen  a  long  gray  sailing-ship  with  auxil- 
iary power  sweeping  down  upon  him.     As  the  wind 


PASSING  OF  MOGUL  MACKENZIE    305 

was  blowing  strong  Inshore,  he  had  taken  to  his 
heels  and  made  for  Portland.  He  was  chased  all 
the  way,  and  his  pursuer  did  not  drop  him  until  he 
was  just  off  the  harbor  bar. 

Many  doubted  his  story,  however,  saying  that  no 
one  would  dare  to  chase  a  peaceful  craft  so  near  to 
a  great  port  in  broad  daylight.  And,  again,  it  was 
urged  that  an  auxiliary  vessel  could  easily  have  over- 
hauled the  schooner  between  Campabello  and  Port- 
land. The  fact  that  the  captain  of  the  schooner 
was  as  often  drunk  as  sober,  and  that  when  he  was 
under  the  influence  of  drink  he  was  given  to  seeing 
visions,  was  pointed  to  as  conclusive  proof  that  his 
yarn  was  a  lie.  After  the  New  Bedford  whaler 
came  into  port  with  the  abandoned  St.  Clare,  it 
was  known  beyond  doubt  that  the  Kanawha  was  still 
a  real  menace.  But  nobody  cared  to  admit  that 
Mogul  Mackenzie  was  as  bold  as  the  schooner's  re- 
port would  imply,  and  hence  countless  arguments 
were  put  forward  to  allay  such  fears. 

But  a  few  days  later  the  fact  that  the  pirates 
were  still  haunting  their  coast  was  absolutely  cor- 
roborated. A  coastal  packet  from  Boston  arrived 
at  Yarmouth  with  the  news  that  she  had  not  only 
sighted  Kanawha  in  the  distance,  but  they  had 
crossed  each  other's  paths  so  near  that  the  name 
could  be  discerned  beyond  question  with  a  spyglass. 
She  was  heading  up  the  Bay  of  Fundy,  and  did  not 
pause  or  pay  any  heed  to  the  other  ship. 

This   news   brought   with   it  consternation,    and 


306  GREA'l    VIRATIL  STORIES 

every  town  and  villap^c  along  the  Fundy  was  a-hum 
with  stories  and  theories  about  the  pirate  ship.  The 
interest,  instead  of  being  abated,  was  augmented  as 
the  days  went  by  with  no  further  report.  In  the 
pubhc-iiouses  and  along  the  quays  it  was  almost  the 
only  topic  of  conversation.  I  he  excitement  became 
almost  feverish  when  it  was  known  that  several  cap- 
tains, outward  bound,  had  taken  with  them  a  supply 
of  rifles  and  ammunition.  The  prospect  of  a  fight 
seemed  imminent. 

About  a  week  after  the  adventure  of  the  Boston 
packet  Her  Majesty's  ship  Buzzard  appeared  off 
Yarmouth  harbor.  The  news  of  the  Kanazi-ha  had 
come  to  the  Admiral  at  Halifax,  and  he  had  dis- 
patched the  warship  to  cruise  about  the  troubled 
coast. 

"That'll  be  the  end  of  old  Mogul  Mackenzie, 
now  that  he's  got  an  English  ship  on  his  trail," 
averred  a  Canadian  as  he  sat  drinking  in  the  "Yar- 
mouth Light"  with  a  group  of  seafaring  men  of 
various  nationalities.  "It  takes  the  British  jack-tar 
to  put  the  kibosh  on  this  pirate  game.  One  of  them 
is  worth  a  shipload  of  Yankees  at  the  business." 

"Well,  don't  you  crow  too  loud  now,"  replied  a 
Boston  skipper.  "I  reckon  that  that  Nova  Scotian 
booze-artist,  who  ran  into  Portland  the  other  day 
scared  of  his  shadow,  would  not  do  you  fellows 
much  credit." 

"Yes;  but  what  about  your  gunboats  that  have 
had  the  job  of  fixing  the  Kanaivha  for  the  last  three 


PASSING  OF  MOGUL  MACKENZIE    307 

years,  and  haven't  done  it  yet?"  The  feelings  be- 
tween Canada  and  the  United  States  were  none  too 
good  just  after  the  Civil  War,  and  the  Canadian 
was  bound  not  to  lose  this  opportunity  for  horse- 
play. "You're  a  fine  crowd  of  sea-dogs,  you  are, 
you  fellows  from  the  Boston  Tea-Party.  Three 
years  after  one  little  half-drowned  rat,  and  haven't 
got  him  yet.  Wouldn't  Sir  Francis  Drake  or  Lord 
Nelson  be  proud  of  the  record  that  you  long-legged, 
slab-sided  Yankees  have  made  on  the  sea!" 

"Shut  your  mouth !  you  blue-nosed,  down-East 
herring-choker!"  roared  the  Yankee  skipper.  "I 
reckon  we've  given  you  traitors  that  tried  to  stab 
us  in  the  back  a  good  enough  licking;  and  if  any 
more  of  your  dirty  dogs  ever  come  nosing  about 
down  south  of  Mason  and  Dixon's  Line,  I  bet 
they'll  soon  find  out  what  our  record  is." 

"Well,  you  fools  can  waste  your  tongue  and 
wind,"  said  a  third  man,  raising  his  glass,  "but  for 
me  here's  good  luck  to  the  Buzzard." 

"So  say  we  all  of  us,"  chimed  in  the  others,  and 
the  Yankee  and  the  Canadian  drank  together  to  the 
success  of  the  British  ship,  forgetting  their  petty 
jealousies  before  a  common  foe. 

Everywhere  the  news  of  the  arrival  of  the  British 
warship  was  hailed  with  delight.  All  seemed  to 
agree  that  her  presence  assured  the  speedy  exter- 
mination of  the  pirate  crew.  But  after  several  days 
of  futile  cruising  about  the  coast,  her  commander, 
to  escape  from  a  coming  storm,  had  to  put  into  St. 


308 


GREAT  PIRATE  STORIES 


Mary's  Bay,  with  the  object  of  his  search  still  elud- 
ing his  vigilance.  He  only  arrived  in  time  to  hear 
the  last  chapter  of  the  Kanawha's  tale  of  horrors. 

The  night  before,  Dominic  Lcfountain,  a  farmer 
living  alone  at  Meteighan,  a  little  village  on  the 
French  shore,  had  been  awakened  from  his  sleep 
by  the  moaning  and  wailing  of  a  human  voice.  For 
days  the  imminent  peril  of  an  assault  from  the 
pirates  had  filled  the  people  of  the  French  coast  with 
forebodings.  And  now,  awakened  thus  in  the  dead 
of  night,  the  lonely  Frenchman  was  wellnigh  para- 
lyzed with  terror.  With  his  flesh  creeping,  and  his 
eyes  wide,  he  groped  for  his  rifle,  and  waited  in  the 
darkness,  while  ever  and  anon  came  those  unearthly 
cries  from  the  beach.  Nearly  an  hour  passed  before 
he  could  gather  himself  together  sufficiently  to  in- 
vestigate the  cause  of  the  alarm.  At  last,  when  the 
piteous  wailing  had  grown  weak  and  intermittent, 
the  instinct  of  humanity  mastered  his  fears,  and  he 
went  forth  to  give  a  possible  succor  to  the  one  in 
need. 

On  the  beach,  lying  prostrate,  with  the  water 
lapping  about  his  feet,  he  found  a  man  in  the  last 
stage  of  exhaustion.  The  blood  was  flowing  from 
his  mouth,  and  as  Dominic  turned  him  over  to 
stanch  its  flow,  he  found  that  his  tongue  had  been 
cut  out,  and  hence  the  unearthly  wailing  which  had 
roused  him  from  his  sleep.  The  beach  was  deserted 
by  this  time,  and  it  was  too  dark  to  see  far  out  into 
the  bay. 


PASSING  OF  MOGUL  MACKENZIE     309 

Dominic  carried  the  unfortunate  man  to  his  house, 
and  nursed  him  there  for  many  weeks.  He  sur- 
vived his  frightful  experiences,  and  lived  on  for 
twenty  years,  a  pathetic  and  helpless  figure,  sup- 
ported by  the  big-hearted  farmers  and  fishermen  of 
the  French  shore.  Evidently  he  had  known  too 
much  for  his  enemies,  and  they  had  sealed  his  mouth 
forever.  He  became  known  as  the  "Mysterious 
Man  of  Meteighan,"  and  his  deplorable  condition 
was  always  pointed  to  as  a  mute  witness  of  the  last 
villainy  of  Mogul  Mackenzie. 

On  the  night  following  the  episode  of  the  "Mys- 
terious Man  of  Meteighan,"  a  wild  and  untoward 
storm  swept  down  the  North, Atlantic  and  over  the 
seaboard  far  and  near.  In  the  Bay  of  Fundy  that 
night  the  elements  met  in  their  grandest  extremes. 
Tide-rips  and  mountain  waves  opposed  each  other 
with  titanic  force.  All  along  the  bleak  and  rock- 
ribbed  coast  the  boiling  waters  lay  churned  into 
foam.  Over  the  breakwaters  the  giant  combers 
crashed  and  soared  far  up  into  the  troubled  sky; 
while  out  under  the  black  clouds  of  the  night  the 
whirlpools  and  the  tempests  met.  Was  ever  a  night 
like  this  before?  Those  on  shore  thanked  God;  and 
those  with  fathers  on  the  sea  gazed  out  upon  a 
darkness  where  no  star  of  hope  could  shine. 

Now  and  again  through  the  Stygian  gloom  a  tor- 
rent of  sheet-lightning  rolled  down  across  the 
heavens,  bringing  in  its  wake  a  moment  of  terrible 
light.     It  was  in  one  of  these  brief  moments  of  il- 


310  GREAT  PIRATE  STORIES 

lumlnation  that  the  wan  watchers  at  Hall's  Harbor 
discerned  a  long  gray  ship  being  swept  like  a  specter 
before  the  winds  towards  the  Isle  of  Haut.  Un- 
til the  flash  of  lightning  the  doomed  seamen  ap- 
peared to  have  been  unconscious  of  their  fast  ap- 
proaching fate;  and  then,  as  if  suddenly  awakened, 
they  sent  a  long  thin  trail  of  light,  to  wind  itself  far 
up  into  the  darkness.  Again  and  again  the  rockets 
shot  upward  from  her  bow,  while  above  the  noises 
of  the  tempest  came  the  roar  of  a  gun. 

The  people  on  the  shore  looked  at  each  other 
with  blanched  faces,  speechless,  helpless.  A  life- 
time by  that  shore  had  taught  them  the  utter  puni- 
ness  of  the  sons  of  men.  Others  would  have  tried 
to  do  something  with  what  they  thought  was  their 
strong  arm.  But  the  fishermen  knew  too  well  that 
the  Fundy's  arm  was  stronger.  In  silence  they 
waited  with  bated  breath  while  the  awful  moments 
passed.  Imperturbable  they  stood  there,  with  their 
feet  In  the  white  foam  and  their  faces  in  the  salt 
spray,  and  gazed  at  the  curtain  of  the  night,  behind 
which  a  tragedy  was  passing,  as  dark  and  dire  as  any 
in  the  annals  of  the  sea. 

Another  flash  of  lightning,  and  there,  dashing 
upon  the  iron  rocks,  was  a  great  ship,  with  all  her 
sails  set,  and  a  cloud  of  lurid  smoke  trailing  from 
her  funnel.  She  was  gray-colored,  with  auxiliary 
power,  and  as  her  lines  dawned  upon  those  who  saw 
her  in  the  moment  of  light,  they  burst  out  with  one 
accord,   "It's  the  Kanawha!     It's  the  Kanawha!" 


PASSING  OF  MOGUL  MACKENZIE     311 

As  if  an  answer  to  their  sudden  cry  another  gun 
roared,  and  another  shower  of  rockets  shot  up  into 
the  sky;  and  then  all  was  lost  again  in  the  darkness 
and  the  voices  of  the  tempest. 

Next  morning  the  winds  had  gone  out  with 
the  tide,  and  when  in  the  afternoon  the  calm  waters 
had  risen,  a  boat  put  off  from  Hall's  Harbor  and 
rowed  to  the  Isle  of  Haut.  For  several  hours  the 
rocky  shores  were  searched  for  some  traces  of  the 
wreck,  but  not  a  spar  or  splinter  could  be  found. 
All  about  the  bright  waters  laughed,  with  naught 
but  the  sunbeams  on  their  bosom,  and  not  a 
shadow  remained  from  last  night's  sorrow  on  the 
sea. 

So  Mogul  Mackenzie,  who  had  lived  a  life  of 
stress,  passed  out  on  the  wings  of  storm.  In  his 
end,  as  always,  he  baffled  pursuit,  and  was  sought 
but  could  not  be  found.  His  sailings  on  the  sea 
were  in  secret,  and  his  last  port  in  death  was  a 
mystery.  But,  as  has  been  already  related,  when 
the  Northern  Lights  come  down  across  the  haunted 
island,  the  distress  signals  of  his  pirate  crew  are  still 
seen  shooting  up  into  the  night. 


THE  LAST  OF  THE  SEA-ROVERS 

The    Riff   Coast   Pirates* 
W.  B.  Lord 

O  nay,  O  nay,  then  said  our  King, 

O  nay,  this  must  not  be, 
To  yield  to  such  a  rover 

Myself  will  not  agree; 
He  hath  deceived  the  Frenchman, 

Likewise  the  King  of  Spain, 
And  how  can  he  be  true  to  me. 

That  hath  been  false  to  twain? 

OLD  SEA  SONG  OF  THE  YEAR    162O. 

PROBABLY  by  this  time  the  greater  part  of 
the  piratical  craft  along  the  Riff  coast  has 
been  destroyed,  and  the  long-promised  Moor- 
ish gunboat  stationed  there  to  protect  foreign  ship- 
ping.t  These  steps  have  doubtless  been  hastened  by 
the  fact  that  the  pirates,  unfortunately  for  them- 
selves, attacked  a  vessel  some  little  time  ago  belong- 
ing to  the  Sultan  of  Morocco.  For  years  past  the 
Governments  of  several  European  Powers  have 
sought  to  put  friendly  pressure  upon  the  Sultan  of 
Morocco  to  effectually  stop  the  depredations  of  the 

*  From   the   Nautical  Magazine. 
t  About  twenty  years  ago. 

312 


THE  LAST  OF  THE  SEA-ROVERS   313 

Riffian   coast  pirates.      No   strong  measures,    how- 
ever, were  really  taken  until  the  above  episode  oc- 
curred.   It  is  said  that  in  early  days  the  Moors  were 
some  time  in  accustoming  themselves  to  the  perils 
of   the   deep.      At   first   they  marvelled   greatly   at 
"those  that  go  down  to  the  sea  in  ships,  and  have 
their  business  in  great  waters,"  but  they  did  not 
hasten  to  follow  their  example.     One  eminent  ruler 
of  ancient  times,  in  that  region,  when  asked  what 
the  sea  was  like,  replied,  "The  sea  is  a  huge  beast 
which  silly  folk  ride  like  worms  on  logs."     But  it 
afterwards   became    clear   that   the    Moors   had   a 
strong    fancy    for    the    "worms"    and    "logs"    too. 
They  gave  up  marvelling  at  those  who  went  to  sea, 
and  went  on  it  themselves  in  search  of  plunder.  The 
risk,  the  uncertainty,  the  danger,  the  sense  of  supe- 
rior skill  and  ingenuity,  that  attract  the  adventur- 
ous spirit,  and  the  passion  for  sport,  are  stated  by 
some  writers  to  have  brought  such  a  state  of  things 
into  existence.     One  fact  seems  to  be  pretty  certain, 
that  when  these  depredations  were  first  made,  they 
took  the  form  of  reprisals  upon  the  Spaniards.     No 
sooner  was  Granada  fallen,  than  thousands  of  des- 
perate Moors  left  the  land,  disdaining  to  live  under 
a  Spanish  yoke.     Settling  along  a  portion  of  the 
northern   coast   of  Africa,    they   immediately   pro- 
ceeded to  first  attack  all  Spanish  vessels  that  could 
be  found.     Their  quickness  and  knowledge  of  the 
coasts  gave  them  the  opportunity  of  reprisals  for 
which  they  longed.     Probably  this  got  monotonous 


314  GREAT  PIRATE  STORIES 

in  course  of  time,  for  in  their  wild  sea  courses  they 
took  to  harrying  the  vessels  belonging  to  other  na- 
tions, and  so  laid  the  foundation  for  a  race  of 
pirates,  which  has  continued  down  to  quite  recently. 
As  nowadays,  the  Moors  cruised  in  boats  from  the 
commencement  of  their  marauding  expeditions. 
Each  man  pulled  an  oar,  and  knew  how  to  fight  as 
well  as  row.  Drawing  little  water,  a  small  srjuad- 
ron  of  these  craft  could  be  pushed  up  almost  any 
creek,  or  lie  hidden  behind  a  rock,  till  the  enemy 
came  in  sight.  Then  oars  out,  and  a  quick  stroke 
for  a  few  minutes.  Next  they  were  alongside  their 
unsuspecting  prey,  and  pouring  in  a  first  volley.  Ul- 
timately the  prize  was  usually  taken,  the  crew  put 
in  irons,  and  the  pirates  returned  home  with  their 
capture,  no  doubt  being  received  with  acclamation 
upon  their  arrival. 

As  far  back  as  the  sixteenth  century  the  Spanish 
forts  at  Alhucemas — not  to  mention  other  places — 
were  established  for  the  purpose  of  repressing  pi- 
racy in  its  vicinity.  Considerable  interest  is  attached 
to  several  of  the  piracies  committed  during  the  past 
few  years,  as  they  culminated  in  strong  representa- 
tions being  made  to  the  Sultan  of  Morocco  by  the 
various  Governments  under  whose  flag  the  respec- 
tive vessels  sailed.  Some  of  them  went  so  far  as 
to  send  warships  to  cruise  along  the  Rifiian  coast. 
This  step  apparently  had  some  moral  effect  upon 
the  pirates,  for  from  that  time  onwards  attacks 
upon  foreign  vessels  practically  ceased.     Something 


THE  LAST  OF  THE  SEA-ROVERS   315 

more  than  this,  however,  was  needed,  for  no  one 
could  say  how  soon  the  marauding  expeditions  might 
be  renewed  upon  a  larger  scale  than  ever,  so  as  to 
make  up  for  lost  opportunities.  On  August  14, 
1897,  the  Italian  three-masted  schooner  Fiducia 
was  off  the  coast  of  Morocco,  in  the  Mediterra- 
nean, homeward  bound  from  Pensacola  to  Mar- 
seilles. Here  she  got  becalmed,  and  while  In  that 
condition  two  boats  approached  her  from  the  shore. 
At  first  the  crew  of  the  Fiducia  thought  they  were 
native  fishing  boats.  When,  however,  the  latter  got 
within  a  hundred  yards  or  so  of  the  helpless  vessel, 
the  suspicions  of  the  crew  were  aroused.  The  cap- 
tain warned  the  Moors  not  to  approach  any  nearer; 
a  volley  of  bullets  was  returned  by  way  of  reply, 
followed  by  a  regular  fusillade  as  the  boats  ad- 
vanced. There  were  only  three  revolvers  on  board 
the  schooner,  and  with  these  the  crew  prepared  to 
defend  themselves.  Soon,  however,  their  supply  of 
ammunition  became  exhausted,  and  the  pirates 
boarded  the  schooner  without  further  opposition. 
The  vessel  was  at  once  ransacked,  even  the  clothes 
of  the  crew  being  taken.  The  ship's  own  boat  was 
lowered,  and  into  this  the  marauders  put  their 
booty,  and  took  It  ashore,  also  carrying  the  captain 
and  one  of  the  crew  with  them.  About  an  hour 
later  another  boat,  containing  about  twenty  pirates, 
came  off  and  fired  on  the  ship.  The  crew,  seeing 
that  they  could  offer  no  effective  resistance,  hid 
themselves  away  In  the  hold.    The  other  pirates  had 


316  (.kl'.A'r  PIRA'll::  STORIES 

left  very  little  for  the  new  arrivals  to  take,  and  this 
seemed  to  annoy  them  so  much  that  they  gave  vent 
to  their  ill-feelings  in  several  ways,  not  the  least 
wanton  being  the  pollution  of  the  ship's  fresh  water. 
They  also  smashed  the  vessel's  compass,  and  tore  up 
the  charts.  I'or  the  next  two  days  the  crew  existed 
on  a  few  biscuits,  which  the  pirates  had  left  behind. 
The  following  day  the  British  steamship  Oanfa,  of 
London,  hove  in  sight.  The  crew  of  the  schooner 
hoisted  a  shirt  as  a  signal,  which  was  fortunately 
seen,  and  a  boat  sent  off  in  response  thereto.  Assis- 
tance was  promptly  rendered,  and  the  Fiducia  put  in 
a  position  to  resume  her  voyage.  This  was  done  un- 
til spoken  by  the  Italian  cruiser  Ercole,  which  as- 
sisted the  schooner  to  her  destination. 

In  October,  1896,  the  FVench  barque  Prosper 
Corue  was  lying  becalmed  off  Alhucemas,  a  place 
fortified  by  the  Spaniards  to  keep  the  pirates  in 
check,  when  several  boats  full  of  armed  Moors 
seized  the  vessel  and  made  the  crew  prisoners.  They 
then  completely  pillaged  the  ship,  removing  almost 
everything  of  any  use  or  value.  While  the  mis- 
creants were  thus  busily  engaged  a  Spanish  mer- 
chant steamship,  named  the  Sevilla,  happened  to 
come  along,  and  was  in  time  to  capture  one  boat  and 
rescue  several  of  the  prisoners.  The  Sevilla  then 
made  towards  the  barque,  but  the  pirates  opened 
fire  on  the  steamer,  killing  and  wounding  some  of 
the  crew.  The  Spaniard  was  compelled  to  retire, 
leaving  the  captain  of  the  barque  in  the  hands  of  the 


THE  LAST  OF  THE  SEA-ROVERS   317 

Moors.  Subsequently  the  barque  was  picked  up  In 
an  abandoned  condition  by  the  British  steamship 
OswJn,  and  towed  Into  Almerla.  An  arrangement 
was  afterwards  made  with  the  pirates  to  release 
the  captains  of  the  Fiducia  and  the  Portuguese 
barque  Rosita  Faro — a  much  earlier  capture — and 
some  members  of  both  crews,  In  exchange  for  the 
RIffians  captured  by  the  Spanish  steamer  Sevilla  and 
a  ransom  of  3,000  dollars.  It  was  only  after  pro- 
longed negotiations  and  a  large  sum  of  money  that  a 
French  warship  succeeded  In  obtaining  the  freedom 
of  the  captain  of  the  Prosper  Come  and  a  few  other 
Frenchmen.  For  some  reason  or  other,  the  pirates 
seemed  very  much  disinclined  to  part  with  these 
prisoners.  Only  a  short  time  before  the  attack  on 
the  French  barque  took  place,  a  notice  was  Issued 
by  the  British  Board  of  Trade,  in  which  the  atten- 
tion of  ship-owners  and  masters  of  vessels  was  called 
to  the  dangers  attending  navigation  off  the  coast  of 
Morocco.  The  document  then  proceeded  to  detail 
the  case  of  the  British  schooner  Mayer,  of  Gibral- 
tar, which  was  boarded  about  10  miles  from  the  Riff 
coast  by  twenty  Moors  armed  with  rifles  and  dag- 
gers. As  usual,  the  pirates  ransacked  the  vessel,  de- 
stroyed the  ensign  and  ship's  papers,  brutally  as- 
saulted the  men  on  board,  and  then  made  off  In  their 
boat.  Scarcely  had  the  foregoing  notice  been  gen- 
erally circulated  than  another  case  of  a  similar  char- 
acter happened  in  connection  with  the  Italian 
schooner  Scatuola.    Again,  there  is  the  Spanish  cut- 


318  GR]':A'r  PIRATE  STORIES 

tcr  Jacob.  She  was  running  along  the  Moorish 
coast  one  fine  summer's  evening  a  few  years  since, 
when  a  lioat  full  of  pirates  suddenly  came  along- 
side, and  speedily  upset  the  quietness  which  had  pre- 
viously reigned  on  hoard  the  Jacob.  Five  of  the 
crew  managed  to  escape  in  the  cutter's  boat  and  were 
picked  up  some  days  later  by  a  passing  vessel.  Those 
who  remained  on  board  the  cutter  fared  very  badly. 
After  the  vessel  had  been  pillaged,  the  rigging  and 
sails  destroyed,  the  men  were  all  securely  bound 
and  left  to  their  fate.  Fortunately  the  weather 
continued  fine,  and  the  Jacob  drifted  towards  the 
Spanish  coast,  where  she  was  seen  and  assistance 
promptly  rendered. 

The  captain  of  another  Spanish  vessel  had  quite  a 
"thrilling"  adventure  among  these  pirates  in  May, 
1892.  He  left  Gibraltar  in  command  of  the  barque 
San  Antonio  for  Alhucemas,  and  when  about  six 
miles  from  Penon  de  la  Gomera  a  boat  manned  by 
thirteen  Moors  was  observed  to  be  approaching  the 
vessel.  When  near  enough  they  opened  fire,  and  or- 
dered the  captain  to  lower  his  sails,  which  was  done, 
as  the  Spaniards  were,  practically  speaking,  without 
arms.  The  Moors  then  boarded  the  San  Antonio 
and  took  her  in  tow.  When  close  to  the  land  the 
captain  was  rowed  ashore,  and  the  pirates  spent  part 
of  the  night  in  unloading  the  cargo.  Next  morning 
the  San  Antonio  was  seen  drifting  out  to  sea,  and 
the  captain,  who  was  afraid  of  being  put  to  death, 
suggested  that  he  should  go  on  board  and  bring  her 


THE  LAST  OF  THE  SEA-ROVERS    319 

back  to  the  anchorage.  Probably  thinking  that  some 
of  their  comrades  were  on  the  barque,  but  unable  to 
set  the  necessary  canvas  to  return,  only  two  Moors 
were  sent  off  with  the  captain,  and  these  remained 
in  the  boat  when  the  vessel  was  reached.  Upon 
gaining  the  deck  of  the  barque  the  captain  was  sur- 
prised to  find  himself  alone.  Without  hesitating  for 
a  moment  he  released  the  crew,  who  were  confined 
below,  hoisted  sail  and  stood  out  to  sea.  The 
Moors  who  had  been  left  in  the  boat  were  speedily 
cut  adrift,  much  to  their  amazement,  for  it  so  hap- 
pened that  none  of  the  pirates  had  stayed  on  board. 
No  doubt  they  were  eager  to  find  a  safe  hiding-place 
for  their  plunder,  and,  thinking  the  barque  quite  se- 
cure till  morning,  took  no  further  heed  of  the  mat- 
ter. A  few  days  later  the  San  Antonio  arrived  at 
Gibraltar,  where  full  particulars  of  the  outrage  were 
furnished  to  the  authorities.  Space  will  not  admit 
of  details  being  given  of  the  attacks  on  the  Spanish 
barque  Goleta,  the  Portuguese  barque  Rosita  Faro, 
the  British  felucca  J  oven  Enrique,  and  other  vessels. 
It  should  be  mentioned,  however,  that  several  fa- 
mous British  and  foreign  sailing  yachts  upon  va- 
rious occasions  have  had  remarkably  narrow  escapes 
from  being  captured  by  these  sea  ruffians. 

It  is  sincerely  to  be  hoped  that  the  Sultan  of 
Morocco  is  carrying  out  his  task  in  such  a  manner 
as  will  induce  the  inhabitants  of  the  Riff  coast  to 
follow  some  occupation  in  future  which  is  more 
likely  to  be  appreciated  by  those  who  have  to  navi- 


320  GREAT  PIRATE  STORIES 

gate  vessels  in  the  Mediterranean.  Previous  to 
stern  measures  being  taken  by  the  Sultan,  it  was  not 
at  all  uncommon  for  his  envoys  to  the  native  tribes 
— for  the  purpose  of  obtaining  the  release  of  cap- 
tives— to  be  received  with  derision.  Often,  too, 
they  were  maltreated  to  such  an  extent  that  they 
were  glad  to  escape  with  their  lives.  Some  of  the 
neighboring  tribes  continually  endeavored  to  pur- 
chase captives  for  the  pleasure  of  killing  them,  but  it 
is  satisfactory  to  learn  that  no  sales  are  recorded, 
as  the  anticipated  ransom  was  always  largely  in  ex- 
cess of  the  sums  offered  by  the  bloodthirsty  natives. 


GREAT  PIRATE  STORIES 


SECOND  SERIES 


-'%l'' 


Copyright,   1925,  by 
BKENTAXO'S,  Inc. 


All  righla  reserved 


Published,  April,  1025 
Reprinted,  September,  1928 


h Tinted  in  the   United  States  of  America 


FOREWORD 

[From  "The  Pirate's  Own  Book,"  printed  in  1837] 

In  the  mind  of  the  mariner,  there  is  a  superstitious 
horror  connected  with  the  name  of  Pirate;  and  there 
are  few  subjects  that  interest  and  excite  the  curiosity 
of  mankind  generally,  more  than  the  desperate  ex- 
ploits, foul  doings,  and  diabolical  career  of  these 
monsters  in  human  form.  A  piratical  crew  is  gener- 
ally formed  of  the  desperadoes  and  runagates  of  every 
clime  and  nation.  The  pirate,  from  the  perilous 
nature  of  his  occupation,  when  not  cruising  on  the 
ocean,  the  great  highway  of  nations,  selects  the  most 
lonely  isles  of  the  sea  for  his  retreat,  or  secretes  him- 
self near  the  shores  of  rivers,  bays  and  lagoons  of 
thickly  wooded  and  uninhabited  countries,  so  that  If 
pursued  he  can  escape  to  the  woods  and  mountain 
glens  of  the  interior.  The  islands  of  the  Indian 
Ocean,  and  the  east  and  west  coasts  of  Africa,  as  well 

V 


vi  FOREWORD 

as  the  West  Indies,  have  been  tlieir  haunts  for  cen- 
turies; and  vessels  navigating  tfie  y\tlantic  and  Indian 
Oceans,  are  often  captured  by  thenn,  the  passengers 
and  crew  murdered,  the  mnnty  and  most  valuable  part 
of  the  cargo  plundered,  the  vessel  destroyed,  thus  ob- 
literating all  trace  of  their  unhappy  fate,  and  leaving 
friends  and  relatives  to  mourn  their  loss  from  the  in- 
clemencies of  the  elements,  when  they  were  butchered 
in  cold  blood  by  their  fellow  men,  who  by  practically 
adopting  the  maxim  that  "dead  men  tell  no  tales," 
enable  themselves  to  pursue  their  diabolical  career  with 
impunity.  The  pirate  is  truly  fond  of  women  and 
wine,  and  when  not  engaged  in  robbing,  keeps  mad- 
dened with  intoxicating  liquors,  and  passes  his  time  in 
debauchery,  singing  old  songs  with  choruses  like 

"Drain,  drain  the  bowl,  each  fearless  soul, 
Let  the  world  wag  as  it  will ; 
Let  the  heavens  growl,  let  the  devil  howl, 
Drain,  drain  the  deep  bowl  and  fill." 

Thus  his  hours  of  relaxation  are  passed  in  wild  and 
extravagant  frolics  amongst  the  lofty  forests  of  palms 
and  spicy  groves  of  the  Torrid  Zone,  and  amidst  the 
aromatic  and  beautiful  flowering  vegetable  productions 
of  that  region.  He  has  fruits  delicious  to  taste,  and  as 
companions,  the  unsophisticated  daughters  of  Africa 
and  the  Indies.  It  would  be  supposed  that  his  wild 
career  would  be  one  of  delight. 

But  the  apprehension  and  foreboding  of  the  mind, 
when  under  the  influence  of  remorse,  are  powerful, 
and  every  man,  whether  civilized  or  savage,  has  inter- 
woven in  his  constitution  a  moral  sense,  which  secretly 
condemns  him  when  he  has  committed  an   atrocious 


FOREWORD  vll 

action,  even  when  he  Is  placed  In  situations  which  raise 
him  above  the  fear  of  human  punishment,  for 

"Conscience,  the  torturer  of  the  soul,  unseen, 
Does  fiercely  brandish  a  sharp  scourge  within; 
Severe  decrees  may  keep  our  tongues  in  awe, 
But  to  our  minds  what  edicts  can  give  law? 
Even  you  yourself  to  your  own  breast  shall  tell 
Your  crimes,  and  your  own  conscience  be  your  hell." 

With  the  name  of  pirate  Is  also  associated  Ideas  of 
rich  plunder,  caskets  of  buried  jewels,  chests  of  gold 
ingots,  bags  of  outlandish  coins,  secreted  In  lonely,  out 
of  the  way  places,  or  burled  about  the  wild  shores  of 
rivers,  and  unexplored  sea  coasts,  near  rocks  and  trees 
bearing  mysterious  marks,  Indicating  where  the  treas- 
ure was  hid.  And  as  It  Is  his  invariable  practice  to 
secrete  and  bury  his  booty,  and  from  the  perilous  life 
he  leads,  being  often  killed  or  captured,  he  can  never 
re-visit  the  spot  again;  Immense  sums  remain  buried  in 
those  places,  and  are  Irrecoverably  lost.  Search  Is 
often  made  by  persons  who  labor  In  anticipation  of 
throwing  up  with  their  spade  and  pickaxe,  gold  bars, 
diamond  crosses  sparkling  amongst  the  dirt,  bags  of 
golden  doubloons,  and  chests,  wedged  close  with 
moidores,  ducats  and  pearls;  but  although  great  treas- 
ures lie  hid  In  this  way,  it  seldom  happens  that  any  is 
so  recovered. 


-^^ 


CONTENTS 


PAGE 


On  the  Spanish  Main i 

From  "The  History  of  the  Pirates."     Anonymous 

Adam  Penfeather's  Narrative 43 

From  "Black  Bartlemy's  Treasure."     By  Jeffery  Farnol 

The  Capture  of  Julius  Caesar 59 

From  "The  Book  of  Pirates."     By  Henry  Gilbert 

Limahon  the  Rover 87 

From  "Purchas  His  Pilgrimes."     By  Samuel  Purchas 

Galleys  and  Galley-Slaves 97 

From  "The  Story  of  the  Barbary  Corsairs."     By  Stanley  Lane- 
Poole 

The  Galleon  of  Venice 115 

From    "Sea-Wolves    of    the    Mediterranean."     By   R.    Hamilton 
Curry.    R.  N. 

The  Origin  of  the  Freebooters 128 

From  "The  History  of  the  Pirates."     By  JOHN  AuCHENHALZ 

In  the  Good  Old  Days 139 

From   "The   History   of  the   Indian   Wars    and   of   Plantain   the 
Pyrate,  &c."     By  Clement  Downing,  R.  N. 

Ravenau — Gentleman — Adventurer    .       .      .      .164 

From  "The  Monarchs  of  the  Main."     By  G.  W.  Thornbury. 


X  CONTENTS 

PAQB 

Ihc  Corsairs 183 

i'roin    "Mr.    Roberts,    His    Voyage    lo    tlie    Levant.  '     liy    Joii.n; 
KOOCRTS 

The  Buccaneers 205 

Krom  "The  Monarchs  of  tlie   Main."     Hy  (.i.   \V.  'riiOR.vuuRV 

John  Paul  Jones — Pirate  and  Privateer  .      .       .232 

From  "Daring  Deeds  of  Famous  Pirates."     By  E.  Keble  Chat- 
TERTON 

Jean  Lafittc — The  Pirate  of  the  Gulf       .       .       .    247 

From   "The   Pirate's   Own    Book."     Anonymous 

In  Malay  Waters 270 

From    "The    Pirate's    Own   Book."     Anonymous 

The  Zephyr — Aaron  Smith's  Story     ....    283 

From  "Daring  Deeds  of  Famous  Pirates."     By  E.  Keble  Chat- 

TERTON 

The  Last  of  the  Pirates 297 

From  "The  Wild  Coast  of  Nippon."    By  Capt.  H.  C.  John,  R.  N. 


ON  THE  SPANISH  MAIN 

[From  "The  History  of  the  Pirates."] 

AN  ACCOUNT 

Of  the  piracies  and  cruelties  of  John  Augur,  (Vil- 
Ham  Cunningham,  Dennis  Mackarthy,  William 
Dowling,  fVilUam  Lewis,  Thomas  Morris,  George 
Bendall,  and  William  Ling,  who  were  tried,  con- 
demned, and  executed  at  Nassau,  (N.  P.)  on  Fri- 
day, the  loth  of  December,  171 8.  Also,  some 
account  of  the  pirates,  Vane,  Rackham,  and  others. 

ABOUT  the  20th  of  July,  17 18,  Mr.  Woodes 
Rogers,  Governer  and  Vice-Admiral  of  the 
Bahama  Islands,  being  sent  from  England 
with  the  king's  proclamation  and  pardon  for  all 
pirates  who  had  surrendered  by  a  time  specified  in  the 
said  proclamation,  arrived  at  Providence.  It  was 
evening  when  the  fleet  came  off  the  tow.n  of  Nassau  in 
the  said  island,  when  Richard  Turnley,  the  pilot,  did 
not  judge  it  safe  to  venture  over  the  bar  that  night, 
wherefore  it  was  resolved  to  lay  by  till  morning. 

In  the  mean  time,  there  came  some  men  on  board 
the  fleet  from  off  a  little  island,  called  Harbour- 
Island,  adjacent  to  Providence.  The  advice  they 
brought  was,  that  there  were  near  a  thousand  pirates 
on  shore  upon  the  island  of  Providence,  waiting  for 

1 


2  GREAT  PIRATE  STORIES 

the  king's  pardon,  which  had  been  long  expected. 
The  principal  part  of  their  commanders  were  Ben- 
jamen  I  lornygold,  Arthur  Davis,  Joseph  Burgess, 
Thomas  Carter,  and  they  were  all  in  or  about  the 
town  of  Nassau;  that  the  fort  was  extremely  out  of 
repair,  there  being  only  one  gun  mounted,  a  nine 
pounder,  and  no  accommodation  for  men,  but  one  little 
hut  or  house,  which  was  inhabited  by  an  old  fellow, 
whom  the  pirates,  in  derision,  called  Governor 
Sawney. 

The  fleet  was  seen  from  the  harbour,  as  well  as  the 
town,  so  that  Capt.  Charles  Vane,  who  had  no  design 
of  surrendering,  but,  on  the  contrary,  had  fitted  out 
his  ship  with  a  resolution  of  attempting  new  adven- 
tures, took  the  advantage  of  the  night  to  contrive  his 
escape;  and  though  the  harbour  was  blocked  up,  and 
his  ship  drew  too  much  water  to  get  out  by  the  east 
passage,  he  shifted  his  hands,  and  things  of  most 
value,  into  a  lighter  vessel,  and  charging  all  the  guns 
of  the  ship  he  quitted,  with  double,  round  and  par- 
tridge, he  set  her  on  fire,  imagining  that  some  of  the 
ships,  or  their  boats,  might  be  sent  near  him,  and  he 
might  do  some  mischief  when  it  should  burn  down  to 
them. 

Those  in  the  fleet  saw  the  light,  and  heard  the  guns, 
and  fancied  the  pirates  on  shore  were  making  bon- 
fires, and  firing  guns  for  joy  that  the  king's  free  par- 
don had  arrived;  and  Capt.  Whitney,  commander  of 
the  Rose  man  of  war,  sent  his  boat  with  a  lieutenant 
on  shore,  which  was  Intercepted  by  Vane,  who  carried 
the  crew  on  board  and  stripped  them  of  some  stores 
they  had  In  the  boat.     He  kept  them  till  he  got  under 


ON  THE  SPANISH  MAIN  3 

sail,  which  was  till  day-break,  when  there  was  light 
enough  for  him  to  see  how  to  steer  his  way  through 
the  east  passage;  which  was  no  sooner  done  but  he 
hoisted  a  black  flag,  and  fired  a  gun,  and  then  let  the 
lieutenant  and  boat's  crew  depart  and  join  the  fleet. 

The  fleet  got  safe  into  the  harbour,  and  as  soon  as 
the  lieutenant  arrived  on  board,  and  related  what  had 
passed,  the  Buck  sloop  was  ordered  to  chase  Vane. 
She  made  what  sail  she  could  through  the  east  passage 
after  him,  having  a  recruit  of  men  well  armed  sent 
to  her  from  the  other  ships;  but  being  heavily  laden 
with  rich  goods,  Vane  had  the  heels  of  her,  v/hich  the 
commodore  observing,  made  a  signal  for  her  to  give 
up  the  chase  and  return,  which  she  did  accordingly. 

They  immediately  fell  to  mooring  and  securing 
their  ships,  which  took  up  the  time  till  night.  Next 
morning  the  governor  went  on  shore,  being  received 
at  his  landing  by  the  principal  people  in  the  govern- 
ment of  the  place,  viz,  Thomas  Walker,  Esq.  Chief 
Justice,  and  Thomas  Taylor,  Esq,  President  of  the 
Council.  The  pirate  captains,  Hornygold,  Davis, 
Carter,  Burgess,  Currant,  and  Clark,  with  some 
others,  drew  up  their  crew  in  two  lines,  reaching 
from  the  water  side  to  the  fort,  the  governor  and 
other  officers  marching  between  them.  In  the 
mean  time,  being  under  arms,  they  made  a  running 
fire  over  his  head. 

Having  arrived  at  the  fort,  his  commission  was 
opened  and  read,  and  he  was  sworn  in  governor  of 
the  island,  according  to  form. 

The  next  day  the  governor  made  out  a  commission 
to  Richard  Turnley,  the  chief  pilot,  to  Mr.  Salter,  a 


4  GREAT  PIRATE  STORIES 

factor,  and  some  others,  to  go  on  hoard  and  examine 
all  suspected  ships  and  vessels  in  the  harbour,  to  take 
an  inventory  of  their  several  ladings,  and  to  secure 
both  ships  and  cargoes  for  the  use  of  the  king  and 
company,  till  such  time  as  a  Court  of  Admiralty 
could  be  called,  tiiat  they  might  be  lawfully  cleared  or 
condemned  by  proving  which  belonged  to  pirates,  and 
which  to  fair  traders. 

The  day  following  a  court-martial  was  held,  in 
which  a  military  discipline  was  settled,  in  order  to 
prevent  surprises,  both  from  Spaniards  and  pirates, 
till  such  time  as  the  fort  could  be  repaired,  and  put 
into  a  condition  of  defence.  For  this  purpose  the 
governor  was  obliged  to  make  use  of  some  of  the  par- 
doned pirates,  such  as  Hornygold,  Davis,  and  Bur- 
gess, to  whom  he  gave  some  commands:  and  George 
Fetherston,  James  Bonney,  and  Dennis  Mackarthy, 
with  some  other  pirates  of  a  lower  rank,  act-ed  under 
them  as  inferior  officers. 

Soon  after,  the  civil  government  was  also  settled, 
some  of  the  principal  officers  being  appointed  justices 
of  the  peace;  others  of  inferior  degree,  constables  and 
overseers  of  the  ways  and  roads,  which  were  over- 
grown with  bushes  and  underwood,  all  about  the  town 
of  Nassau;  so  that  if  an  enemy  had  landed  in  the 
night,  they  might  He  in  ambuscade  in  those  covers, 
and  surprise  the  town;  wherefore,  several  of  the 
common  pirates  were  employed  in  clearing  them  away. 

The  governor,  with  some  soldiers,  guarded  the 
fort,  and  the  inhabitants,  who  were  formed  into 
trained  bands,  took  care  of  the  town;  but  as  there  was 
no  sort  of  accommodation  to  lodge  such  a  number  of 


ON  THE  SPANISH  MAIN  5 

people,  they  were  forced  to  unbend  the  sails,  and 
bring  them  on  shore,  in  order  to  make  tents,  till  they 
had  time  to  build  houses,  which  was  done  with  all 
possible  expedition,  by  a  kind  of  architecture  alto- 
gether new. 

Those  that  were  built  in  the  fort  were  done  by 
making  six  little  holes  in  the  rock,  at  convenient 
distances,  in  each  of  which  was  stuck  a  forked  pole; 
on  these,  from  one  to  the  other,  were  placed  cross 
poles  or  rafters,  which  being  lathed  at  top,  and  on 
the  sides,  with  small  sticks,  were  afterwards  covered 
with  Palmata  leaves,  and  then  the  house  was  finished; 
for  they  did  not  much  trouble  themselves  about  the 
ornaments  of  doors  and  windows. 

In  the  mean  time  the  repairs  of  the  fort  were  car- 
ried on,  and  the  streets  were  ordered  to  be  kept 
clean,  both  for  health  and  convenience,  so  that  It 
began  to  have  the  appearance  of  a  civilized  place. 
A  proclamation  was  published  for  the  encouragement 
of  all  such  persons  as  should  be  willing  to  settle  upon 
the  Island  of  Providence,  by  which  every  person  was 
to  have  a  lot  of  ground  of  a  hundred  and  twenty 
feet  square,  any  where  In  or  about  the  town  of  Nassau, 
that  was  not  before  In  the  possession  of  others,  pro- 
vided they  should  clear  said  ground,  and  build  a 
house  tenantable,  by  a  certain  time  therein  limited, 
which  might  be  easily  done,  as  they  might  have  timber 
for  nothing.  This  had  the  effect  proposed,  and  a 
great  many  Immediately  fell  to  work,  to  comply  with 
the  conditions,  in  order  to  settle  themselves  there. 

Many  of  the  pirates  were  employed  In  the  woods 
In  cutting  down  sticks  to  make  pallsadoes;  and  all  the 


6  GREAT  PIRATE  STORIES 

people  belonging  to  the  ships,  officers  excepted,  were 
obliged  to  work  four  days  in  the  week  on  the  fortifica- 
tions, so  that  in  a  short  time  a  weak  entrenchment 
was  rendered  tolerably  strong. 

But  it  did  not  much  suit  the  inclinations  of  the 
pirates  to  be  set  to  work;  and  though  they  had  pro- 
vision sufficient,  and  had  also  a  good  allowance  of 
wine  and  brandy  to  each  man,  yet  they  began  to  have 
such  a  hankering  after  their  old  trade,  that  many  of 
them  took  opportunities  of  seizing  pcriaguas,  and  other 
boats,  in  the  night,  and  making  their  escape,  so  that 
in  a  few  months,  there  was  not  many  of  them  left. 

However,  when  the  Spanish  war  was  proclaimed, 
several  of  them  returned  back  again  of  their  own 
accord,  tempted  with  the  hopes  of  being  employed 
upon  the  privateering  account,  for  that  place  lying 
near  the  coast  of  Spanish  America,  and  also  not  far 
from  the  Gulf  of  Florida,  seemed  to  be  a  good  sta- 
tion for  intercepting  the  Spanish  vessels  going  to  old 
Spain. 

They  were  not  mistaken  in  this  supposition;  for 
the  governor  according  to  the  power  vested  in  him, 
did  grant  commissions  for  privateering,  and  made 
choice  of  some  of  the  principal  pirates  who  had  con- 
tinued upon  the  island,  in  obedience  to  the  pardon, 
for  commanders,  as  being  persons  well  qualified  for 
such  employments,  who  made  up  their  crews  chiefly 
of  their  scattered  companions,  who  were  newly  re- 
turned upon  the  hopes  of  preferment. 

About  this  time  a  fishing  vessel,  belonging  to  the 
island  of  Providence,  brought  In  the  master  of  a  ship 
and  a  few  sailors,  whom  she  had  picked  up  at  sea 


ON  THE  SPANISH  MAIN  7 

in  a  canoe.  The  said  master  was  called  Captain 
King,  who  sailed  in  a  ship  called  the  Neptune,  be- 
longing to  South-Carolina,  laden  with  rice,  pitch,  tar, 
and  other  merchandise,  bound  for  London. 

The  account  he  gave  of  himself  was,  that  he  was 
met  with  by  Charles  Vane,  the  pirate,  who  carried 
him  into  Green  Turtle  Bay,  one  of  the  Bahama 
islands,  by  whom  he  was  plundered  of  a  great  part 
of  his  cargo,  which,  consisting  chiefly  of  stores,  was 
of  great  use  to  them;  that  afterwards  they  cut  away 
part  of  one  of  the  masts  of  the  ship,  and  fired  a  gun 
down  her  hold,  with  intent  to  sink  her;  that  they 
took  some  of  his  men  into  their  service,  and  when  they 
were  sailing  off,  gave  him  and  the  rest  a  canoe  to  save 
themselves;  that  with  this  canoe  they  made  shift  to 
sail  from  one  little  island  to  another,  till  they  had  the 
good  luck  to  meet  the  fishing  boat  which  took  them 
up;  and  that  he  believed  Charles  Vane  might  still  be 
cruising  thereabouts. 

Upon  this  intelligence,  the  governor  fitted  out  a 
ship  which  was  named  the  JViUiyig  Mind,  manned 
with  50  stout  hands,  well  armed,  and  also  a  sloop 
with  30  hands,  which  he  sent  to  cruise  among  those 
islands,  in  search  of  Vane,  the  pirate,  giving  them 
orders  also  to  endeavour  to  recover  the  ship  Neptune, 
which  Capt.  King  told  them  had  still  goods  of  con- 
siderable value  left  in  her. 

They  went  out  accordingly,  but  never  saw  Vane. 
However,  they  found  the  Neptune,  which  was  not 
sunk  as  the  pirates  intended;  for  the  ball  they  fired 
into  her  stuck  in  the  ballast,  without  passing  through. 
They  returned  with  her  about  the  loth  of  November; 


8  GREAT  PIRATE  STORIES 

but  an  unlucky  accident  happened  to  the  IVilling  Mind, 
occasioned  eitlicr  by  the  ignorance  or  carelessness  of 
the  pilot,  which  bilged  in  going  over  the  bar. 

In  the  mean  time  Vane  made  towards  the  coast 
of  Ilispaniola,  living  riotously  on  board,  having  an 
abundance  of  liquor,  and  plenty  of  fresh  provisions, 
such  as  hogs,  goats,  sheep,  and  fowl,  which  he  got 
upon  easy  terms;  for  touching  at  a  place  called 
Islcathera,  he  plundered  the  inhabitants  of  as  much 
of  their  provision  as  they  could  carry  away.  Here 
they  cruised  to  about  February,  when,  near  the  wind- 
ward passage  of  Cape  Mase,  they  met  with  a  large 
ship  of  London,  called  the  Kingston,  laden  with  bale 
goods,  and  other  rich  merchandise,  and  having  several 
passengers  on  board,  some  English,  and  some  Jews, 
besides  two  women. 

Towards  the  north  end  of  Jamaica,  they  also  met 
with  a  turtle  sloop,  bound  in  for  that  island,  on  board 
of  which  (after  having  first  plundered  her)  they  put 
the  captain  of  the  Kingston,  some  of  his  men,  and  all 
the  passengers  except  the  two  women,  whom  they 
detained,   contrary   to   their  usual   practice. 

The  Kingston  they  kept  for  their  own  use;  for  now 
their  company  being  strengthened  by  a  great  many 
recruits,  some  volunteers  and  some  forced  men  out 
of  the  Neptune  and  Kingston,  they  thought  they  had 
hands  enough  for  two  ships.  Accordingly  they 
shifted  several  of  their  hands  on  board  the  Kingston, 
and  John  Rackham,  alias  Calico  Jack,  (so  called, 
because  his  jackets  and  drawers  were  always  made  of 
calico)  quarter-master  to  Vane,  was  unanimously 
chosen  captain  of  the  Kingston. 


ON  THE  SPANISH  MAIN  9 

The  empire  of  these  pirates  had  not  been  long  thus 
divided  before  they  had  like  to  have  fallen  into  a 
civil  war  among  themselves,  which  must  have  ended 
in  the  destruction  of  one  of  them.  The  fatal  occasion 
of  the  difference  between  these  two  brother  adven- 
turers, was  this.  It  happened  that  Vane's  liquor  was 
all  out,  who  sending  to  his  brother  captain  for  a 
supply,  Rackham  accordingly  spared  him  what  he 
thought  fit;  but  it  falling  short  of  Vane's  expectation, 
as  to  quantity,  he  went  on  board  of  Rackham's  ship  to 
expostulate  with  him,  so  that  words  arising.  Rack- 
ham  threatened  to  shoot  him  through  the  head,  if  he 
did  not  immediately  return  to  his  own  ship;  and  told 
him  likewise,  that  if  he  did  not  sheer  off,  and  part 
company,  he  would  sink  him.  Vane  thought  it  best 
to  take  his  advice,  for  he  thought  the  other  was  bold 
enough  to  be  as  good  as  his  word,  for  he  had  it  in 
his  power  to  be  so,  his  ship  being  the  largest  and 
strongest  of  the  two.  Accordingly  they  parted,  and 
Rackham  made  for  the  island  of  Princes,  and  having 
great  quantities  of  rich  goods  on  board,  taken  in  the 
late  prizes,  they  were  divided  into  lots,  and  he  and 
his  crew  shared  them  by  throwing  dice,  the  highest 
cast  being  to  choose  first.  When  they  had  done,  they 
packed  up  their  goods  in  casks,  and  buried  them  on 
shore  in  the  island  of  Princes,  that  they  might  have 
room  for  fresh  booty.  In  the  mean  time  it  happen- 
ing that  a  turtle  sloop,  belonging  to  Jamaica,  came  in 
there,  Rackham  sent  his  boat  and  brought  the  master 
on  board  of  him,  and  asking  him  several  questions, 
the  master  informed  him  that  war  with  Spain  had  been 
proclaimed  in  Jamaica;  and  that  the  time  appointed 


10  GREAT  PIRATE  STORIES 

by  the  general  pardon  for  pirates  to  surrender,  in 
order  to  receive  the  benefit  thereof,  had  not  expired. 

Upon  this  intcllij^ence  Rackham  and  his  crew  sud- 
denly changed  their  minds,  and  were  resolved  to  take 
the  benefit  of  the  pardon  by  a  speedy  surrender; 
wherefore,  instead  of  using  the  master  ill,  as  the 
poor  man  expected,  they  made  him  several  presents, 
desiring  him  to  sail  back  to  Jamaica,  and  acquaint 
the  governor  they  were  willing  to  surrender,  provided 
he  would  give  his  word  and  honour  they  should  have 
the  benefit  of  the  pardon;  which,  extensive  as  it  was, 
they  apprehended  they  were  not  entitled  to,  because 
they  had  run  away  in  defiance  of  it  at  Providence. 
They  desired  the  master  also  to  return  with  the 
governor's  answer,  assuring  him  he  should  be  no  loser 
by  the  voyage. 

The  master  very  willingly  undertook  the  commis- 
sion, and  arriving  at  Jamaica,  delivered  his  message 
to  the  governor,  according  to  his  instructions;  but 
it  happened  that  the  master  of  the  Kingston,  with 
his  passengers,  having  arrived  at  Jamaica,  had  ac- 
quainted the  governor  with  the  piracies  of  Vane  and 
Rackham,  before  the  turtler  got  thither,  who  was 
actually  fitting  out  two  sloops,  which  were  now  just 
ready,  in  pursuit  of  them,  so  that  the  governor  was 
very  glad  to  discover  by  the  turtler's  message  where 
Rackham  was  to  be  found. 

The  two  sloops,  well  manned,  accordingly  sailed 
out,  and  found  Rackham  in  the  station  where  the 
turtler  had  described  him,  altogether  in  disorder,  and 
quite  unprepared,  either  for  sailing  or  fighting,  most 
of  his  sails  being  on  shore,   erected   into   tents,   and 


ON  THE  SPANISH  MAIN  11 

his  decks  lumbered  with  goods.  He  happened  to  be 
on  board  himself,  though  most  of  his  men  were  ashore, 
and  seeing  the  two  sloops  at  a  distance,  bearing  to- 
wards him,  he  observed  them  with  his  glass,  and 
fancied  he  saw  on  board  something  like  preparations 
for  fighting.  This  was  what  he  did  not  expect,  for  he 
looked  for  no  enemy,  and  while  he  was  in  doubt  and 
suspense  about  them,  they  came  so  near  that  they 
began  to  fire. 

He  had  neither  time  nor  means  to  prepare  for  de- 
fence, so  that  there  was  nothing  to  be  done  but  to 
run  into  his  boat,  and  escape  to  the  shore,  which  he 
did  accordingly  with  the  few  hands  he  had  with  him, 
leaving  the  two  women  on  board  to  be  taken  by  the 
enemy. 

The  sloops  seized  the  Kingston,  manned  her,  and 
brought  her  Into  Jamaica,  having  still  a  great  part 
of  her  cargo  left.  When  she  arrived,  the  master  of 
her  fell  to  examining  what  part  of  the  cargo  was 
lost  and  what  left;  he  searched  also  for  his  bills  of 
lading  and  cockets,  but  they  were  all  destroyed  by 
Rackham;  so  that  the  ship  being  freighted  by  several 
owners,  the  master  could  not  tell  whose  property 
was  saved,  and  whose  lost,  till  he  had  fresh  bills  of 
parcels  of  each  owner  from  England.  There  was 
one  remarkable  piece  of  good  luck  which  happened  in 
this  affair;  there  were,  amongst  other  goods,  sixty  gold 
watches  on  board,  and  thirty  of  silver;  the  pirates 
divided  the  silver  watches,  but  the  gold  being  packed 
up  amongst  some  bale  goods,  were  never  discovered 
by  them,  and  the  master,  in  searching,  found  them  all 
safe. ' 


12  GREAT  PIRATE  STORIES 

In  the  mean  time,  Rackham  and  his  crew  lived  in 
tlie  woods,  in  very  great  suspense  what  to  do  with 
themselves.  They  had  with  them  ammunition  and 
small  arms,  and  also  some  of  the  goods,  such  as  bales 
of  silk  stockings,  and  laced  hats,  with  which  it  is 
supposed,  they  intended  to  make  themselves  fine. 
They  had  also  two  boats  and  a  canoe. 

Being  divided  in  their  resolutions,  Rackham,  with 
six  more,  determined  to  take  one  of  the  boats,  and 
make  the  best  of  their  way  for  the  island  of  Provi- 
dence, and  there  claim  the  benefit  of  the  king's  par- 
don, which  they  fancied  they  might  be  entitled  to, 
by  representing,  that  they  were  carried  away  by  Vane, 
against  their  wills.  Accordingly  they  put  some  arms, 
ammunition,  and  provision,  into  the  best  boat,  and 
also  some  of  the  goods,  and  set  sail.  They  first 
made  the  Island  of  Pines,  from  thence  got  over  to 
the  north  side  of  Cuba,  where  they  destroyed  several 
Spanish  boats  and  launches;  one  they  took,  which 
being  a  stout  sea  boat,  they  shifted  themselves  and 
their  cargo  into  her,  sunk  their  own,  and  then  stretched 
over  to  the  island  of  Providence,  where  they  landed 
safely  about  the  middle  of  May,  17 19,  where  de- 
manding the  king's  pardon,  the  governor  thought  fit 
to  allow  it  them,  and  certificates  were  granted  to  them 
accordingly. 

Here  they  sold  their  goods,  and  spent  the  money 
merrily.  When  all  was  gone,  some  engaged  them- 
selves in  privateers,  and  others  in  trading  vessels. 
But  Rackham,  as  captain,  having  a  much  larger  share 
than  any  of  the  rest,  his  money  held  out  a  little  longer; 
but   happening   about   this    time    to    form    a   criminal 


ON  THE  SPANISH  MAIN  13 

acquaintance  with  one  Ann  Bonny,  a  married  woman, 
he  became  very  extravagant,  and  found  it  necessary, 
to  avoid  detection  and  punishment,  to  abscond  with 
his  mistress. 

For  this  purpose  they  plotted  together  to  seize  a 
sloop  which  then  lay  in  the  harbour,  and  Rackham 
drew  some  brisk  young  fellows  into  the  conspiracy. 
They  were  of  the  number  of  the  pirates  lately  par- 
doned, and  who,  he  knew,  were  weary  of  working 
on  shore,  and  longed  to  be  again  at  their  old  trade. 

The  sloop  they  made  choice  of  was  between  30 
and  40  tons,  and  one  of  the  swiftest  sailers  that  ever 
was  built  of  that  kind.  She  belonged  to  one  John 
Haman,  who  lived  upon  a  little  island  not  far  from 
Providence,  which  was  inhabited  by  no  human  crea- 
ture except  himself  and  his  family.  His  livelihood 
and  constant  employment  was  to  plunder  and  pillage 
the  Spaniards,  whose  sloops  and  launches  he  had  often 
surprised  about  Cuba  and  Hispaniola,  and  sometimes 
brought  off  a  considerable  booty,  always  es'caping  by  a 
good  pair  of  heels.  Insomuch  that  it  became  a  bye- 
word  to  say,  there  goes  John  Haman,  catch  him  if 
you  can.  His  business  to  Providence  now,  was  to 
bring  his  family  there,  in  order  to  live  and  settle,  being 
weary,  perhaps,  of  living  in  that  solitude,  or  e-lse, 
apprehensive,  if  any  of  the  Spaniards  should  discover 
his  habitation,  they  might  land,  and  be  revenged  on 
him  for  all  his  pranks. 

Ann  Bonny  was  observed  to  go  several  times  on 
board  this  sloop.  She  pretended  to  have  some  busi- 
ness with  John  Haman,  but  always  went  when  he 
was  on  shore,   for  her  true   errand  was  to   discover 


14  GREAT  PIRATE  STORIES 

how  many  hands  were  on  board,  and  what  kind  of 
watch  they  kept,  and  to  know  the  passages  and  ways 
of  the  vessel. 

She  discovered  as  much  as  was  necessary.  She 
found  there  were  l)ut  two  hands  on  board,  and  that 
John  I  laman  slept  on  shore  every  night.  She  in- 
quired of  them  whether  they  watched;  where  they 
lay;  and  many  other  questions;  to  all  which  they 
readily  answered  her,  as  thinking  she  had  no  design 
but  common  curiosity. 

She  acquainted  Rackham  with  every  particular  who 
resolved  to  lose  no  time,  and  therefore,  acquainting 
his  associates,  who  were  eight  in  number,  they  ap- 
pointed an  hour  for  meeting  at  night,  which  was  12 
o'clock.  They  were  all  true  to  the  roguery,  and  Ann 
Bonny  was  as  punctual  as  the  most  resolute,  and  being 
all  well  armed,  they  took  a  boat  and  rowed  to  the 
sloop,  which  was  very  near  the  shore. 

The  night  seemed  to  favour  the  attempt,  for  it  was 
both  dark  and  rainy.  As  soon  as  they  got  on  board, 
Ann  Bonny,  having  a  drawn  sword  in  one  hand,  and 
a  pistol  in  the  other,  attended  by  one  of  the  men, 
went  straight  to  the  cabin  where  the  two  fellows  lay 
who  belonged  to  the  sloop.  The  noise  awaked  them, 
which  she  observing,  declared  that  if  they  pretended 
to  resist,  or  make  a  noise,  she  would  blow  their  brains 
out. 

In  the  mean  time,  Rackham  and  the  rest  were  busy 
heaving  In  the  cables,  one  of  which  they  soon  got  up, 
and  for  expedition  sake,  they  slipped  the  other,  and 
so  drove  down  the  harbour.  They  passed  pretty  near 
the  fort,  which  hailed  them,  as  did  also  the  guard-ship, 


ON  THE  SPANISH  MAIN  15 

asking  them  where  they  were  going?  They  answered, 
their  cable  had  parted,  and  that  they  had  nothing  but  a 
grappling  on  board,  which  would  not  hold  them;  im- 
mediately after  which  they  set  a  small  sail  just  to  give 
them  steerage  way.  When  they  came  to  the  harbour's 
mouth,  and  thought  they  could  not  be  seen  by  any  of 
the  ships,  on  account  of  the  darkness  of  the  night, 
they  hoisted  all  the  sail  they  had,  and  stood  to  sea; 
then  calling  up  the  two  men,  they  asked  them  if  they 
would  be  of  their  party;  but  finding  them  not  inclined, 
they  gave  them  a  boat  to  row  themselves  ashore, 
ordering  them  to  give  their  service  to  Haman,  and 
tell  him  they  would  send  him  his  sloop  again  when  they 
had  done  with  her. 

Rackham  and  his  paramour  both  bore  a  great  spleen 
to  Richard  Turnley,  who  was  gone  from  Providence, 
turtling,  before  they  made  their  escape,  and  they 
knowing  what  island  he  was  upon,  made  to  the  place. 
They  saw  the  sloop  about  a  league  from  the  shore, 
and  went  on  board  with  six  hands;  but  Turnley,  with 
his  boy,  by  good  luck,  happened  to  be  ashore  salting 
some  wild  hogs  they  had  killed  the  day  before.  They 
inquired  for  him,  and  hearing  where  he  was,  rowed 
ashore  in  search  of  him. 

Turnley,  from  the  land,  saw  the  sloop  boarded,  and 
observed  the  men  afterwards  making  for  the  shore, 
and  being  apprehensive  of  pirates,  which  were  very 
common  in  those  parts,  he,  with  his  boy,  fled  into  a 
neighbouring  wood.  The  surf  being  very  great,  so 
that  they  could  not  bring  their  boat  to  shore,  they 
waded  up  to  the  arm-pits,  and  Turnley,  peeping  through 
the  trees,  saw  them  bring  arms  on  shore.     Upon  the 


16  GREAT  PIRATE  STORIES 

whole,  not  likinj^  their  appearance,  he,  with  his  boy, 
lay  snug  in  the  hushes. 

When  they  had  looked  about  and  could  not  see  him, 
they  called  him  ah)ud  by  name;  but  he  not  appearing, 
they  thought  it  time  lost  to  look  for  him  in  such  a 
wilderness,  and  therefore  returned  to  their  boat,  but 
rowed  again  back  to  the  sloop,  and  took  away  the 
sails,  and  several  other  things.  They  also  carried 
away  with  them  three  of  the  hands,  viz.  Richard 
Connor,  the  mate,  John  Davis,  and  John  Howel,  but 
rejected  David  Soward,  the  fourth  hand,  though  he 
had  been  an  old  and  experienced  pirate,  because  he 
was  lame,  and  disabled  by  a  wound  he  had  formerly 
received. 

When  they  had  done  thus  much,  they  cut  away  the 
mast,  and  towing  the  vessel  into  deep  water,  sunk  her, 
having  first  put  David  Soward  into  a  boat  to  shift  for 
himself.  He,  however,  got  ashore,  and  after  some 
time,  found  Turnley. 

From  thence,  Rackham  stretched  over  to  the  Bury 
Islands,  plundering  all  the  sloops  he  met,  and 
strengthening  his  company  with  several  additional 
hands,  and  so  went  on  till  he  was  finally  taken  and 
executed  at  Port  Rayal,  Jamaica. 

About  this  time,  the  governor.  In  conjunction  with 
some  factors  then  residing  at  Providence,  thought  fit 
to  freight  some  vessels  for  a  trading  voyage.  Accord- 
ingly the  Bachelor's  Adventure,  a  schooner,  Capt. 
Henry  White,  commander;  the  Lancaster,  sloop,  Capt. 
William  Greenway,  commander;  the  May,  sloop, 
Capt.  John  Augur,  commander,  of  which  last  David 
Soward  was  owner,    (she  having  been  given  him  by 


ON  THE  SPANISH  MAIN  17 

some  pirates  his  former  associates)  in  which  he  also 
sailed  this  voyage,  were  fitted  out  with  a  cargo  of 
goods  and  merchandise,  bound  for  Port  Prince,  on  the 
island  of  Cuba. 

The  governor  thought  it  advisable,  for  the  benefit 
of  the  inhabitants  of  Providence,  to  settle  a  corres- 
pondence with  some  merchants  of  Port  Prince,  first, 
in  order  to  procure  fresh  provisions,  there  being 
scarce  any  upon  the  island  at  the  governor's  first 
arrival;  and  there  being  at  Port  Prince  great  plenty 
of  cows  and  hogs,  he  proposed  to  get  a  sufficient 
number  of  each,  to  stock  the  island  for  breed,  that 
the  people  for  the  future  might  have  fresh  provision 
of  their  own. 

They  set  sail  on  Sunday,  the  5th  of  October,  17 18. 
The  next  day  they  arrived  at  an  island  known  by  the 
name  of  Green  Key,  lying  S.  S.  E.  from  Providence, 
in  lat.  28  deg.  40  m.  being  distant  about  25  leagues. 
Here  they  cast  anchor,  in  order  to  wait  for  morning 
to  carry  them  through  some  rocks  and  shoals  which 
lay  in  their  way,  and  some  hands  went  ashore  to  try 
to  kill  something  for  supper  before  it  should  be  dark. 
They  expected  to  meet  some  wild  hogs,  for  some 
time  before,  one  Joseph  Bay  and  one  Sims,  put  two 
sows  and  a  boar  on  said  island;  for  they  living  at 
that  time  at  Providence,  and  being  continually  vis- 
ited by  pirates,  were  always  plundered  of  their  fresh 
provisions,  wherefore  they  thought  of  settling  a  breed 
upon  Green  Key,  that  they  might  have  recourse  to 
in  time  of  necessity. 

This  island  is  about  nine  miles  in  circumference, 
and  about  three  miles  broad  in  the  widest  place.     It 


18  GREAT  PIRATE  STORIES 

is  overgrown  with  wild  cabbaj^c  and  Palmata  trees, 
and  has  a  j^rcat  variety  of  other  herbs  and  fruits,  so 
that  there  is  plenty  of  food  ff>r  the  nourishment  of 
such  animals;  but  the  trees  growing  so  close  together, 
makes  it  bad  hunting,  and  they  killed  but  one  hog, 
which,  however,  was  of  a  monstrous  si/e. 

The  hunters  returned  on  board  their  ships  again 
before  seven,  having  first  divided  the  hog,  and  sent 
part  on  board  each  vessel  for  supper  that  night. 
After  supper,  Capt.  Greenway  and  Capt.  White 
came  on  board  of  Capt.  Augur's  sloop,  in  order  to 
consult  together  what  time  to  sail,  and  being  all 
of  opinion  that  if  they  weighed  anchor  between  the 
hours  of  lO  and  ii,  it  would  be  day  before  they 
would  come  up  with  the  shoals,  they  agreed  upon 
that  hour  for  setting  sail,  and  so  returned  to  their 
own  vessels. 

Soon  after,  Phinehas  Bunch,  and  Dennis  Mackar- 
thy,  with  a  great  many  others,  came  from  White's 
sloop,  on  board  of  Augur's.  Their  pretence  was, 
that  they  came  to  see  Richard  Turnley  and  Mr. 
James  Carr,  who  had  formerly  been  a  midshipman 
in  the  Rose  man  of  war,  under  Capt.  Whitney,  and 
being  a  great  favourite  of  Governor  Rogers,  he  had 
appointed  him  supercargo  of  this  voyage.  They 
desired  to  be  treated  with  a  bottle  of  beer,  for  they 
knew  Mr.  Carr  had  some  that  was  very  good  in  his 
care,  which  had  been  put  on  board,  in  order  to  make 
presents  of,  and  to  treat  the  Spanish  merchants  with. 

As  it  was  not  suspected  they  had  any  thing  else 
in  view,  Mr.  Carr  readily  went  down,  and  brought 
up  a  couple  of  bottles  of  beer.     They  sat  upon  the 


ON  THE  SPANISH  MAIN  19 

poop  with  Capt.  Augur  in  their  company,  and  were 
drinking  their  beer;  before  the  second  bottle  was  out, 
Bunch  and  Mackarthy  began  to  rattle,  talk  with  great 
pleasure,  and  much  boasting  of  their  former  exploits 
when  they  had  been  pirates,  crying  up  a  pirate's  life 
to  be  the  only  life  for  a  man  of  any  spirit.  While 
they  were  running  on  in  this  manner,  Bunch  on  a  sudden 
started  up,  and  swore  he  would  be  captain  of  that 
vessel.  Augur  answered  him  the  vessel  did  not  want 
a  captain,  for  he  was  able  to  command  her  himself, 
which  seemed  to  put  an  end  to  the  discourse  for  that 
time. 

Soon  after  Bunch  began  to  tell  what  bright  arms 
they  had  on  board  their  sloop;  upon  which,  one  of 
Augur's  men  handed  up  some  of  their  cutlasses  which 
had  .been  cleaned  that  day.  Among  them  was  Mr. 
Carr's  silver-hilted  sword.  Bunch  seemed  to  admire 
the  sword,  and  asked  whose  it  was?  Mr.  Carr  made 
answer,  it  belonged  to  him.  Bunch  replied  it  was 
a  very  handsome  one,  and  drawing  it  out,  marched 
about  the  poop,  flourishing  It  over  his  head,  and  telling 
Mr.  Carr  he  would  return  it  to  him  when  he  had 
done  with  it.  At  the  same  time  he  began  to  vapour 
again,  and  to  boast  of  his  former  piracies,  and  coming 
near  Mr.  Carr,  struck  him  with  the  sword.  Turnley 
bid  him  take  care  what  he  did,  for  Mr.  Carr  would 
not  take  such  usage.  As  they  were  disputing  upon 
this  matter,  Dennis  Mackarthy  stole  off,  and,  with 
some  of  his  associates,  seized  upon  the  great  cabin, 
where  all  the  arms  lay.  At  the  same  time  several 
of  the  men  began  to  sing  a  song  with  these  words 
Did  you  not  promise  me,  that  you  would  marry  me- 


20  GREAT  PIRATE  STORIES 

which  it  seems  was  the  signal  agreed  upon  among  the 
conspirators  for  seizing  the  ship.  Bunch  no  sooner 
heard  them,  hut  he  cried  out  aloud,  that  I  will,  for  I 
am  parson,  and  struck  Mr.  Carr  again  several  blows 
with  his  own  sword.  Mr.  Carr  and  Turnley  both 
seized  him,  and  they  began  to  struggle,  when  Dennis 
Mackarthy,  with  several  others,  returned  from  the 
cabin  witli  each  a  cutlass  in  one  hand,  and  a  loaded 
pistol  in  the  other,  and  running  up  to  them,  said, 
fVhat!  do  the  governor's  dogs  offer  to  resist? 
And  beating  Turnley  and  Carr  with  their  cutlasses, 
threatened  to  shoot  them,  at  the  same  time  firing 
their  pistols  close  to  their  cheeks,  upon  which  Turnley 
and   Carr  begged  their  lives. 

When  they  were  thus  in  possession  of  the  vessel, 
they  hailed  Capt.  Greenway,  and  desired  him  to  come 
on  board  about  urgent  business.  He,  knowing  nothing 
of  what  had  passed,  jumped  into  his  boat,  and  with 
two  hands  only,  rowed  on  board.  Dennis  Mackarthy 
led  him  into  the  cabin,  and,  as  soon  as  he  was  there, 
laid  hold  of  him,  telling  him  he  was  now  a  prisoner, 
and  must  submit.  He  offered  to  make  some  resist- 
ance; upon  which,  they  told  him  all  resistance  would 
be  vain,  for  his  own  men  were  in  the  plot;  and,  indeed, 
seeing  the  two  hands  who  rowed  him  aboard,  now 
armed,  and  joining  with  the  conspirators,  he  thought 
it  was  time  to  submit. 

As  soon  as  this  was  done,  they  sent  some  hands 
on  board  to  seize  the  sloop,  or  rather  to  acquaint  his 
men  with  what  had  been  done,  for  they  expected 
to  meet  with  no  resistance,  many  of  them  being  in 
the  plot,  and  the  rest,  they  supposed,  not  very  av-erse 


ON  THE  SPANISH  MAIN  21 

to  it;  after  which,  they  decoyed  Captain  White  on 
board,  by  the  same  stratagem  they  used  with  Green- 
way,  and  likewise  sent  on  board  his  sloop,  and  found 
his  men,  one  and  all,  well  disposed  for  the  design;  and 
what  was  most  remarkable  was,  that  Captain  Augur, 
seeing  how  things  were  going,  joined  with  them,  show- 
ing himself  as  well  inclined  for  pirating  as  the  worst 
of  them. 

Thus  they  made  themselves  masters  of  the  three 
vessels  with  very  little  trouble.  The  next  thing  to 
be  done  was  to  resolve  how  to  dispose  of  those  who 
were  not  of  their  party.  Some  were  for  killing 
Richard  Turnley,  but  the  majority  carried  it  for  ma- 
rooning, that  he  might  be  starved,  and  die  like  a  dog, 
as  they  called  it.  Their  great  spleen  to  him  was, 
because  he  was  the  person  who  had  piloted  the  gov- 
ernor into  Providence. 

Accordingly,  Turnley,  with  John  Carr,  Thomas 
Rich,  and  some  others,  were  stripped  naked,  and 
tumbled  over  the  vessel's  side  into  a  boat  which  lay 
along  side.  The  oars  were  all  taken  out,  and  they 
left  them  nothing  to  work  themselves  ashore  with 
but  an  old  paddle,  which,  at  other  times,  served  to 
steer  the  boat,  and  so  they  commanded  them  to  be 
gone.  However,  they  made  shift  to  get  safe  ashore 
on  the  island,  which,  as  we  observed  before,  was 
quite  uninhabited. 

The  next  morning  Dennis  Mackarthy,  with  sev- 
eral others,  went  on  shore,  and  told  them  they  must 
come  on  board  again,  and  they  would  give  them  some 
clothes  to  put  on.  They  fancied  the  pirates  began  to 
repent  of  the  hard  usage  they  had  given  them,  and 


22  GREAT  PIRATE  STORIES 

were  willing  to  return  upon  such  an  errand;  but  when 
they  got  on  board  again,  they  found  their  opinion  of 
the  pirates'  good  nature  was  very  ill  grounded,  for 
they  began  with  beating  them,  and  did  it  as  if  it  were 
sport,  one  having  a  boatswain's  pipe,  the  rest  beating 
them  till  he  piped  belay. 

The  true  design  of  bringing  them  on  board  again, 
was  to  make  them  discover  where  some  things  lay, 
which  they  could  not  readily  find,  particularly  Mr. 
Carr's  watch  and  silver  snuff-box;  but  he  was  soon 
obliged  to  inform  them  in  what  corner  of  the  cabin 
they  were,  and  there  they  were  found,  with  some 
journals  and  other  books,  which  they  knew  how  to 
make  no  other  use  of  than  turning  them  into  car- 
tridges. Then  they  began  to  question  Thomas  Rich 
about  a  gold  watch  which  had  once  been  seen  in  his 
possession  on  shore  at  Providence;  but  he  protested 
that  it  belonged  to  Capt.  Gale,  who  was  commander 
of  the  guard-ship  called  the  Delicia,  to  which  he  then 
belonged;  but  his  protestations  would  have  availed 
him  little,  had  It  not  been  that  some  on  board,  who 
belonged  also  to  the  Delicia,  knew  it  to  be  true,  which 
put  an  end  to  his  beating;  and  so  they  were  all  dis- 
charged from  their  punishment  for  the  present. 

Some  time  after,  fancying  the  pirates  to  be  in  better 
humour,  they  begged  for  something  to  eat,  for  they 
had  none  of  them  had  any  nourishment  that  day  or  the 
night  before;  but  all  the  answer  they  received  was, 
that  such  dogs  should  not  ask  such  questions.  In  the 
mean  time,  some  of  the  pirates  were  very  busy  en- 
deavouring to  persuade  Captain  Greenway  to  engage 
with  them,  for  they  knew  him  to  be  an  excellent  artist; 


ON  THE  SPANISH  MAIN  23 

but  he  was  obstinate  and  would  not.  Then  it  was 
proposed  to  maroon  him,  which  was  opposed  by  some, 
because  he  was  a  Bermudian,  meaning,  that  he  might 
perhaps  swim  away,  or  swim  on  board  his  vessel 
again,  for  the  Bermudians  are  all  excellent  swimmers; 
but  as  he  represented,  that  he  could  not  hurt  them 
by  his  swimming,  he  obtained  the  favour  for  himself 
and  the  other  officers,  to  be  set  ashore  with  Turnley, 
Carr,  and  Rich.  Accordingly,  they  were  put  into 
the  same  boat  without  oars,  to  the  number  of  eight, 
and  were  ordered  to  make  the  best  of  their  way  on 
shore. 

The  pirates,  the  next  day,  having  examined  all  their 
vessels,  and  finding  that  Greenway's  sloop  was  not 
fit  for  their  purpose,  shifted  everything  out  of  her. 
Those  that  were  sent  on  shore  could  see  from  thence 
what  they  were  doing,  and  when  they  saw  them  row 
off,  Greenway  swam  on  board  the  sloop,  it  is  likely, 
to  see  whether  they  had  left  anything  behind  them. 
They  perceived  him,  and  fancied  he  repented  refusing 
to  join  with  them,  and  had  come  to  do  it  now;  where- 
fore some  of  them  returned  back  to  the  sloop, 
to  speak  to  him,  but  they  found  him  of  the  same 
opinion  he  was  in  before.  However,  he  wheedled 
them  into  so  much  good  humour  that  they  told  him 
he  might  have  his  sloop  again,  in  which,  indeed,  they 
had  left  nothing  except  an  old  main-sail,  an  old  fore- 
sail, four  small  pieces  of  Irish  beef,  in  an  old  beef 
barrel,  and  about  twenty  biscuits,  with  a  broken  bucket 
which  was  used  to  draw  water  in,  telling  him  that  he 
and  the  rest  must  not  go  on  board  till  they  had  sailed. 

Greenway  swam  ashore  again  to  give  notice  to  his 


24  GREAT  PIRATE  STORIES 

brothers  in  distress,  of  what  had  passed.  The  same 
afternoon  Bunch  with  several  others  went  on  shore, 
carrying  with  them  six  bottles  of  wine  and  some 
biscuits.  Whether  this  was  done  to  tempt  Greenway 
again,  or  no,  is  hard  to  say;  for  though  they  talked 
to  him  a  great  deal,  they  drank  all  the  wine  themselves 
to  the  last  bottle,  and  then  gave  each  of  the  poor 
creatures  a  glass  a-picce,  with  a  bit  of  biscuit,  and 
immediately  after  fell  to  beating  them,  and  so  went 
on  board. 

While  they  were  on  shore,  there  came  in  a  turtler 
which  belonged  to  one  Thomas  Bennet,  of  Providence, 
wherof  one  Benjamin  Hutchins  was  master.  They 
soon  laid  hold  of  her,  for  she  sailed  excellently  well. 
Hutchins  was  reputed  an  extraordinary  good  pilot 
among  those  islands;  wherefore  they  tempted  him 
to  engage  with  them;  at  first  he  refused,  but  rather 
than  be  marooned,  he  afterwards  consented. 

It  was  now  the  9th  of  October,  and  they  were  just 
preparing  to  sail,  when  they  sent  on  shore,  ordering 
the  condemned  ynalefactors  to  come  on  board  Green- 
way's  sloop,  the  Lancaster.  They  did  so  in  the  little 
boat  they  went  on  shore  in,  by  the  help  of  the  same 
paddle.  They  found  several  of  the  pirates  there, 
who  told  them  that  they  gave  them  that  sloop  to  return 
to  Providence,  though  they  let  them  have  no  more 
stores,  than  what  were  named  before.  They  bade 
them  take  the  foresail,  and  bend  it  for  a  jib,  and  furl 
It  close  down  to  the  bowsprit,  and  to  furl  the  main- 
sail close  up  to  the  boom.  They  did  as  they  were 
ordered,  for  they  knew  there  was  no  disputing  whether 
it  was  right  or  wrong. 


ON  THE  SPANISH  MAIN  25 

Soon  after,  another  detachment  came  on  board, 
among  whom  were  Bunch  and  Dennis  Mackarthy, 
who  being  either  mad  or  drunk,  fell  upon  them,  beat- 
ing them,  and  cutting  the  rigging  and  sails  to  pieces 
with  their  cutlasses,  and  commanding  them  not  to  sail, 
till  they  should  hear  from  them  again,  threatening  if 
they  did,  they  would  put  them  all  to  death,  if  ever  they 
met  them  again;  and  so  they  went  off,  carrying  with 
them  the  boat,  which  they  sent  them  first  ashore  in,  and 
sailed  away. 

They  left  them  in  this  miserable  condition,  without 
tackle  to  go  their  voyage,  and  without  a  boat  to  get  on 
shore,  and  having  nothing  in  view  but  to  perish  for 
want;  but  as  self  preservation  put  them  upon  exerting 
themselves,  in  order  to  get  out  of  this  deplorable 
state,  they  began  to  rummage  and  search  the  vessel 
through  every  hole  and  corner,  to  see  if  nothing  was 
left  which  might  be  of  use  to  them;  and  it  happened 
by  chance  that  they  found  an  old  hatchet,  with  which 
they  cut  some  sticks  sharp  to  serve  for  marling-spikes. 
They  also  cut  out  several  other  things,  to  serve  instead 
of  such  tools  as  are  absolutely  necessary  on  board  a 
ship. 

When  they  had  proceeded,  thus  far,  every  man 
began  to  work  as  hard  as  he  could;  they  cut  a  piece 
of  cable,  which  they  strung  into  rope  yarns,  and  fell 
to  mending  their  sails  with  all  possible  expedition; 
they  also  made  a  kind  of  fishing  lines  of  rope  yarns, 
and  bent  some  nails  crooked  to  serve  for  hooks;  but 
as  they  were  destitute  of  a  boat,  as  well  for  the  use 
of  fishing  as  for  going  on  shore,  they  resolved  to 
make  a  bark  log,  that  is,  to  lay  two  or  three  logs 


26  GREAT  PIRATE  STORIES 

together,    and    lash    tliem    close,    upon    which    two    or 
three  men  may  sit  very  safely  in  smooth  water. 

As  soon  as  this  was  done,  some  hands  went  on  shore, 
upon  one  of  the  logs  (for  they  made  two  of  them) 
who  employed  themselves  in  cutting  wild  cabbage, 
gathering  berries,  and  a  fruit  which  the  seamen  call 
prickly  pears,  for  food,  while  some  others  went  a 
fishing  upon  another.  Those  who  went  ashore  also 
carried  the  old  bucket  with  them,  so  that  whilst  some 
were  busy  in  gathering  things  to  serve  for  provision, 
one  hand  was  constantly  employed  in  bringing  fresh 
water  aboard  in  the  bucket,  which  was  tedious  work, 
considering  how  little  could  be  brought  at  a  time,  and 
that  the  sloop  lay  near  a  mile  from  the  shore. 

When  they  had  employed  themselves  thus,  for 
about  four  or  five  days,  they  brought  their  sails  and 
tackle  into  such  order,  having  also  a  little  water, 
cabbage  and  other  things  on  board,  that  they  thought 
it  was  time  to  venture  to  sail.  Accordingly  they 
weighed  their  anchor,  and  setting  all  the  sail  they 
had,  got  out  to  the  harbour's  mouth,  when  to  their 
great  terror  and  surprise,  they  saw  the  pirates  coming 
in  again. 

They  were  much  frightened  at  this  unexpected  re- 
turn, because  of  the  threatenings  they  had  used  to 
them  at  parting,  not  to  sail  without  further  orders; 
wherefore,  they  tacked  about,  and  ran  as  close  in  to 
the  shore  as  they  could,  then  throwing  out  their  bark 
logs,  they  all  put  themselves  upon  them,  and  made 
to  land,  as  fast  as  they  could;  but  before  they  quite 
reached  it,  the  pirates  got  so  near  that  they  fired  at 
them,  but  were  too  far  to  do  execution.     However, 


ON  THE  SPANISH  MAIN  27 

they  pursued  them  ashore;  the  unhappy  exiles  im- 
mediately took  to  the  woods,  and  for  greater  security 
climbed  up  some  tre^s,  whose  branches  were  very 
thick,  and  by  that  means  concealed  themselves.  The 
pirates  not  finding  them,  soon  returned  to  their  boat, 
and  rowed  on  board  the  deserted  sloop,  whose  mast 
and  bowsprit  they  cut  away,  and  towing  into  deep 
water,  sunk  her;  after  which,  they  made  again  for 
shore,  thinking  that  the  fugitives  would  have  been 
out  of  their  lurking  holes,  and  that  they  should  sur- 
prise them;  but  they  continued  still  on  the  tops  of  the 
trees  and  saw  all  that  passed,  and  therefore  thought 
it  safest  to  keep  their  posts. 

The  pirates  not  finding  them,  returned  to  their 
vessels,  and  weighing  their  anchors,  set  sail,  steering 
eastward.  In  the  mean  time,  the  poor  fellows  were 
in  despair,  for  seeing  their  vessel  sunk,  they  had 
scarce  any  hopes  left  of  escaping  the  danger  of  per- 
ishing upon  that  uninhabited  Island,  where  they  lived 
eight  days,  feeding  upon  berries,  and  shell-fish,  such 
as  cockles  and  perriwinkles,  sometimes  catching  a 
stingrey,  a  fish  resembling  mead  or  thornback,  which 
coming  Into  shoal  water,  they  could  wade  near  them, 
and  by  the  help  of  a  stick  sharpened  at  the  end,  which 
they  did  by  rubbing  it  against  the  rocks,  (for  they 
had  not  a  knife  left  among  them)  they  stuck  them  as 
if  It  had  been  with  a  spear. 

It  must  be  observed,  that  they  had  no  means  of 
striking  a  fire,  and  therefore  their  way  of  dressing 
this  fish  wa^,  by  dipping  it  In  salt  water,  then  laying  it 
in  the  sun,  till  It  became  both  hard  and  dry,  and  then 
they  ate  It. 


28  GREAT  PIRATE  STORIES 

After  passing  eight  clays  In  this  manner,  the  pirates 
returned,  and  saw  the  poor  fugitives  ashore,  who  ac- 
cording to  custom  made  to  the  woods;  but  their  hearts 
began  to  relent  towards  them,  and  sending  ashore, 
they  ordered  a  man  to  go  into  the  woods  single,  to 
call  out  to  them,  and  promise  them  upon  their  honour, 
if  they  would  appear,  that  they  would  give  them 
victuals  and  drink,  and  not  use  them  ill  any  more. 

These  promises,  and  the  hunger  which  pinched  them, 
tempted  them  to  come  forth,  and  accordingly  they 
went  on  board,  and  they  were  as  good  as  their  word, 
for  they  gave  them  as  much  beef  and  biscuit  as 
they  could  eat,  during  two  or  three  days  they  were 
on  board,  but  would  not  give  them  a  bit  to  carry  on 
shore. 

There  was  on  board  one  George  Redding,  an  in- 
habitant of  Providence,  who  was  taken  out  of  the 
turtle  sloop,  and  who  was  a  forced  man.  Being  an 
acquaintance  of  Richard  Turnley,  and  knowing  that 
he  was  resolved  to  go  ashore  again,  rather  than  en- 
gage with  the  pirates,  and  hearing  him  say,  that  they 
could  find  food  to  keep  them  alive,  if  they  had  but 
fire  to  dress  it,  privately  gave  him  a  tinder  box,  with 
materials  in  it  for  striking  fire,  which,  in  his  circum- 
stances, was  a  greater  present  than  gold  or  jewels. 
Soon  after,  the  pirates  put  the  question  to  them, 
whether  they  would  engage,  or  be  put  ashore?  And 
they  all  agreed  upon  the  latter:  upon  which  a  debate 
arose  among  the  pirates,  whether  they  should  comply 
with  their  request  or  not;  and  at  length  it  was  agreed, 
that  Greenway  and  the  other  two  masters  should  be 
kept  whether  they  would  or  no;  and  the  rest,  being 


ON  THE  SPANISH  MAIN  29 

five  in  number,  should,  as  the  pirates  expressed  it,  have 
a  second  refreshment  on  the  varieties  of  the  island. 

Accordingly  Richard  Turnley,  James  Carr,  Thom- 
as Rich,  John  Cox,  and  John  Taylor,  were  a  second 
time  marooned,  and  the  pirates,  as  soon  as  they  landed 
them,  sailed  off,  steering  eastward,  till  they  came  to  an 
island  called  Pudden  Point,  near  Long-Island,  in  lat. 
24  degrees,  where  they  cleaned  their  vessels. 

In  the  mean  time,  Turnley  and  his  companions 
made  a  much  better  shift  than  they  had  done  before, 
his  friend  Redding's  present  being  of  infinite  use  to 
them,  for  they  constantly  kept  a  good  fire,  with  which 
they  broiled  their  fish.  There  were  plenty  of  land 
crabs  and  snakes  on  the  island,  which  they  could  eat 
when  they  were  dressed.  Thus  they  passed  fourteen 
days;  at  the  end  of  which  the  pirates  made  them  an- 
other visit,  and  they  according  to  custom  made  for  the 
woods,  thinking  that  the  reason  of  their  return  must 
be,  in  order  to  force  them  to  serve  amongst  them. 
But  here  they  were  mistaken,  for  the  anger  of  these 
fellows  being  over,  they  began  to  pity  them;  but  going 
ashore,  and  not  finding  them,  they  knew  they  were 
hid  for  fear.  Nevertheless,  they  left  upon  the  shore, 
where  they  knew  they  would  come,  some  stores  which 
they  intended  in  this  fit  of  good  humour  to  present 
them  with. 

The  poor  islanders  had  got  to  their  retreat,  the  tops 
of  the  trees,  and  saw  the  pirates  go  off;  upon  which 
they  ventured  down,  and  going  to  the  water  side,  were 
agreeably  surprised  to  find  a  small  cask  of  flour,  of 
between  twenty  and  thirty  pounds,  about  a  bushel  of 
salt,  two  bottles  of  gun  powder,  several  bullets,  besides 


30  GREAT  PIRATE  STORIES 

a  (juantity  of  small  shot,  with  a  couple  of  muskets, 
a  very  good  axe,  and  alscj  a  pot  and  a  pan,  and  three 
dojj;s,  which  tiicy  took  in  the  turtle  sloop;  which  dogs 
are  bred  to  hunting,  and  generally  the  sloops  which 
go  turtling,  carry  some  of  them,  as  they  are  very 
useful  in  tracing  out  the  wild  hf)gs.  Besides  all  these, 
there  were  a  dozen  horn  handled  knives,  of  the  sort 
which  are  usually  carried  to  Guinea. 

They  carried  all  things  into  the  woods,  to  that  part 
where  they  had  their  fresh  water,  and  where  they 
usually  kept,  and  immediately  went  to  work  with  their 
axe ;  some  cutting  down  bows,  and  making  poles,  so  that 
four  of  them  were  employed  in  building  a  hut,  while 
Richard  Turnley  taking  the  dogs  and  a  gun,  went 
a  hunting,  he  understanding  that  sport  very  well.  He 
had  not  been  gone  long  before  he  killed  a  large  boar, 
which  he  brought  home  to  his  companions,  who  fell 
to  cutting  it  up,  and  some  they  dressed  for  their  dinner, 
and  the  rest  they  salted,  for  another  time. 

Thus  they  lived,  as  they  thought,  very  happy  in 
respect  to  their  former  condition;  but  after  a  few  days, 
the  pirates  made  them  another  visit,  for  they  wanted 
to  fill  some  casks  with  water.  It  happened  when  they 
came  in  that  Turnley  was  gone  a  hunting,  and  the 
rest  all  busy  at  work,  so  that  they  did  not  see  them, 
till  they  came  into  the  wood  up  on  them.  Seeing  the 
hut,  one  of  them  in  wantonness  set  it  on  fire,  and  it 
was  burnt  to  the  ground;  and  they  appeared  inclined 
to  do  mischief,  when  Richard  Turnley,  knowing  noth- 
ing of  the  matter,  happened  to  return  from  hunting, 
with  a  fine  hog  upon  his  back,  as  much  as  he  could 
carry.     He  was  immediately  surrounded  by  the  pirates, 


ON  THE  SPANISH  MAIN  31 

who  seized  upon  the  fresh  meat,  which  seemed  to  put 
them  into  better  humour.  They  made  Richard  Cox 
carry  it  down  to  their  boat,  and  when  he  had  done, 
they  gave  him  a  bottle  of  rum  to  carry  back  to  his 
companions  to  drink  their  healths,  telling  him,  that 
they  might  get  home  if  they  could,  or  if  they  stayed 
there,  they  would  never  trouble  them  any  more. 

They  were,  indeed  as  good  as  their  word,  for 
sailing  away  immediately,  they  made  for  Long-Island, 
and  coming  up  toward  the  salt  ponds  there,  they  saw 
at  a  distance  in  the  harbour,  three  vessels  at  an  anchor, 
and  supposing  them  to  be  either  Bermuda  or  New- 
York  sloops,  lying  there  to  take  in  salt,  they  bore  down 
upon  them  with  all  the  sail  they  could  make,  expecting 
a  good  booty.  The  turtle  sloop  taken  from  Ben- 
jamin Hutchins,  was  by  much  the  best  sailer;  however, 
it  was  almost  dark  before  she  came  up  with  them, 
and  then  coming  close  along  side  of  one  of  them, 
she  gave  a  broadside,  with  a  design  to  board  the  next 
minute,  but  received  such  a  volley  of  small  shot  in 
return,  as  killed  and  wounded  a  great  many  of  the 
pirates,  and  the  rest,  in  great  surprise  and  fright, 
jumped  overboard,  to  save  themselves  by  swimming 
ashore. 

The  truth  is,  these  sloops  proved  to  be  Spanish  pri- 
vateers, who  observing  the  pirates  to  bear  down  upon 
them,  prepared  themselves  for  action.  The  com- 
mander in  chief  of  these  three  privateers  was  one 
who  was  called  by  the  name  of  Turn  Joe,  because  he 
had  once  privateered  on  the  English  side.  He  had 
also  been  a  pirate,  and  now  acted  by  virtue  of  a  com- 
mission from  a  Spanish  governor.     He  was  by  birth 


32  GREAT  PIRATE  STORIES 

an  Irishman,  a  bold  enterprising  fellow,  and  was  after- 
wards killctl  in  :in  engagement  with  one  John  Bon- 
navee,  captain  of  a  privateer  belonging  to  Jamaica. 

But  to  return  to  our  story.  The  sloop  was  taken, 
and  on  board  her  was  found,  desperately  wounded, 
Phineas  Bunch,  who  was  the  captain.  By  and  by  a 
second  of  the  pirate  sloops  came  up;  she  heard  the 
volley,  and  supposed  it  to  be  fired  by  Bunch,  when  he 
boarded  one  of  the  sloops;  she  came  also  along  side 
of  one  of  the  Spaniards,  and  received  the  welcome 
that  was  given  to  Bunch,  and  submitted  as  soon.  A 
little  after,  came  up  the  third,  which  was  taken  with 
the  same  ease,  and  in  the  same  manner,  as  many  of 
th.e  pirates  as  could  swim,  jumping  overboard  to  save 
themselves  on  shore,  there  not  being  a  man  lost  on 
the  side  of  the  Spaniards. 

The  next  day  Turn  Joe  asked  them  many  questions, 
and  finding  out  that  several  a-mongst  them  had  been 
forced  men,  he  with  the  consent  of  the  other  Span- 
ish officers,  ordered  all  the  goods  to  be  taken  out  of 
a  Spanish  launch,  and  putting  some  of  the  wounded 
pirates  into  the  said  launch,  with  some  provision, 
water,  and  other  liquors,  gave  it  to  the  forced  men, 
to  carry  them  to  Providence. 

Accordingly  George  Redding,  Thomas  Betty, 
Matthew  Betty,  and  Benjamin  Hutchins,  with  some 
others,  set  sail,  and  in  eight-and-forty  hours  arrived 
in  the  harbour  of  Providence.  They  went  on  shore 
Immediately,  and  acquainted  the  governor  with  every 
thing  that  had  passed,  from  the  time  of  their  setting 
out;  informing  him,  that  Phineas  Bunch,  who  was  one 
of  the  chief  authors  of  all  the  mischief,  was  on  board 


ON  THE  SPANISH  MAIN  33 

the  launch.  The  governor,  with  some  others,  went 
and  examined  him,  and  he  confessed  all,  wherefore 
there  was  no  occasion  for  a  trial;  and  as  he  had  been 
pardoned  before,  and  it  was  necessary  to  make  some 
speedy  example,  it  was  resolved  that  he  should  be 
executed  the  next  day,  but  it  was  prevented  by  his 
dying  that  night  of  his  wounds. 

They  also  informed  the  governor  of  the  condition 
of  Turnley,  Carr,  and  the  rest,  who  were  marooned 
by  the  pirates  upon  Green  Key  Island;  upon  which 
the  governor  sent  for  one  John  Sims,  a  mulatto  man, 
who  had  a  two-mast  boat  in  the  harbour  of  Provi- 
dence, very  fit  for  sailing;  and  putting  some  provi- 
sions into  her,  ordered  him  to  get  five  or  six  hands, 
and  to  sail  for  Green  Key,  in  order  to  bring  off  the 
five  men  there  marooned. 

Sims  accordingly  made  the  best  of  his  way,  and 
sailing  out  in  the  morning,  arrived  at  Green  Key  the 
next  day  towards  evening.  The  poor  people  on  shore 
saw  them,  and  supposing  them  to  be  some  of  the 
pirates  returned,  thought  it  best  to  take  to  the  woods 
and  hide,  not  knowing  what  humour  they  might  be  in 
now.  Sims  and  his  ship-mates  carried  some  provision 
on  shore,  not  knowing  but  they  might  want,  and 
searched  about,  calling  out  to  them  by  their  names. 
After  wandering  about  some  time,  they  came  to  the 
place  where  the  fire  was  constantly  kept;  on  perceiving 
which,  they  fancied  they  must  be  thereabouts,  and 
that  it  would  be  best  to  wait  for  them  there,  and 
accordingly  they  sat  down,  laying  the  provisions  near 
them.  Turnley,  who  had  climbed  to  the  top  of  a 
tree  just  by,  saw  them,  and  observed  their  motions,  and 


34  GRKAT  PIRATP.  STORIES 

fancied  they  were  no  enemies  who  were  bringing  thenn 
provisions,  and  looking  more  earnestly,  he  knew  Sims, 
the  mulatto,  whom  he  was  very  well  acquainted  with 
at  Providence;  upon  which  he  called  him,  who  desired 
him  to  come  down,  telling  him  the  comfortable  news, 
that  he  was  come  to  the  relief  of  him  and  his  com- 
panions. TurnJcy  made  what  haste  he  could  to  the 
bottom,  and  as  soon  as  he  was  down,  summoned  his 
comrades,  who  had  climbed  to  the  top  of  some  neigh- 
bouring trees,  being  in  haste  to  communicate  the  glad 
tidings  to  them.  Being  all  together,  the  mulatto  re- 
lated to  them  the  history  of  what  had  happened  to 
the  pirates. 

That  night  they  supped  comfortably  together  upon 
the  provision  brought  ashore;  but  so  strange  an  effect 
has  joy,  that  scarce  one  of  them  slept  a  wink  that 
night,  as  they  declared.  The  next  day  they  agreed  to 
go  a  hunting,  in  order  to  get  something  fresh  to  carry 
off  with  them,  and  were  so  successful,  that  they  killed 
three  fine  hogs.  When  they  returned,  they  made  the 
best  of  their  way  on  board,  carrying  with  them  all 
their  utensils,  and  set  sail  for  Providence,  whither 
they  arrived  In  three  days;  it  being  now  just  seven 
weeks  from  the  time  of  their  being  first  set  on  shore  by 
the  pirates. 

The  governor,  in  the  mean  time,  was  fitting  out  a 
sloop  to  send  to  Long-Island,  In  order  to  take  those 
pirates  who  had  saved  themselves  near  the  salt  ponds 
there,  which  sloop  was  now  ready  to  sail,  and  put 
under  the  command  of  Benjamin  Hornygold.  Turn- 
ley  and  his  companions  embarked  on  board  of  her,  and 


ON  THE  SPANISH  MAIN  35 

care  was  taken  to  get  as  many  men  as  they  could, 
who  were  entire  strangers  to  the  pirates. 

When  they  arrived  at  the  said  island,  they  ran  in 
pretty  near  the  shore,  keeping  but  few  hands  on  deck, 
that  it  might  look  like  a  trading  vessel,  and  those 
men  that  were  quite  unknown  to  the  pirates. 

The  pirates  seeing  them,  came  only  two  or  three 
of  them  near  the  shore,  the  rest  lying  in  ambush, 
not  without  hopes  of  finding  an  opportunity  to  seize 
the  sloop,  which  sent  her  boat  out  towards  the  shore, 
with  orders  to  lay  off  at  a  little  distance,  as  if  she  was 
afraid.  Those  in  ambush  seeing  the  boat  so  near, 
had  not  patience  to  stay  any  longer,  but  flocked  to 
the  water  side,  calling  out  to  them  to  come  on  shore, 
and  help  them,  for  they  were  poor  shipwrecked  men, 
perishing  for  want.  Upon  which  the  boat  rowed 
back  again  to  the  sloop. 

Upon  second  thoughts  they  sent  her  off  again  with 
two  bottles  of  wine,  a  bottle  of  rum,  and  some  biscuit, 
and  sent  another  man,  who  was  a  stranger  to  those 
ashore,  with  orders  to  pass  for  master  of  the  vessel. 
As  soon  as  they  approached  them,  the  pirates  called  to 
them  as  before,  begging  them,  for  God's  sake  to  come 
on  shore;  they  did  so,  and  gave  them  the  biscuit,  wine, 
and  rum,  which  he  said  he  brought  ashore  on  purpose 
to  comfort  them,  because  his  men  told  him  they  were 
cast  away.  They  were  very  inquisitive  to  know  where 
he  was  bound.  He  told  them,  to  New- York,  and  that 
he  came  in  there  to  take  in  salt.  They  earnestly  en- 
treated him  to  take  them  on  board,  and  carry  them  as 
passengers  to  New-York;  they  being  about  sixteen  in 


36  GREAT  PIRATE  STORIES 

number,  he  answered,  he  was  afraid  he  had  not  pro- 
vision sufficient  for  so  ^reat  a  number;  but  that  he 
would  go  on  board  and  overhaul  his  provision,  and  if 
they  pleased,  some  of  them  might  go  with  him,  and 
sec  how  his  stock  stood;  that  at  least  he  would  carry 
some  of  them,  and  leave  some  refreshment  for  the 
rest,  till  they  could  be  succoured  another  way,  but 
that  he  hoped  they  would  make  him  some  recom- 
pense when  they  should  arrive  at  New-York. 

riicy  seemed  wonderfully  pleased  with  his  proposal, 
and  promised  to  make  him  ample  satisfaction  for  all 
the  charges  he  should  be  at,  pretending  to  have  good 
friends  and  considerable  effects  in  different  parts  of 
America.  Accordingly  he  took  several  of  them  with 
him  in  the  boat,  and  as  soon  as  they  got  on  board  he 
invited  them  into  the  cabin,  where,  to  their  surprise, 
they  saw  Benjamin  Horneygold,  formerly  a  brother 
pirate;  but  what  astonished  them  more,  was  to  see 
Richard  Turnley,  whom  they  had  lately  marooned 
upon  Green  Key.  They  were  immediately  surrounded 
by  several  with  pistols  in  their  hands,  and  clapped  in 
irons. 

As  soon  as  this  was  over,  the  boat  went  on  shore 
again,  and  those  in  the  boat  told  the  pirates,  that  the 
captain  would  venture  to  carry  them  with  what  pro- 
vision he  had;  at  which  they  appeared  much  rejoiced, 
and  so  the  rest  were  brought  on  board,  and  without 
much  trouble  clapped  in  irons,  as  well  as  their  com- 
panions. 

The  sloop  had  nothing  more  to  do,  and  therefore 
set  sail,   and   reaching  Providence,   delivered   the   pi- 


ON  THE  SPANISH  MAIN  37 

rates  all  prisoners  into  the  fort.  A  Court  of  Admi- 
ralty was  immediately  called,  and  they  were  all  tried, 
and  nine  received  sentence  of  death,  viz.  John 
Augur,  William  Cunningham,  Dennis  Mackarthy, 
William  Dowling,  William  Lewis,  Thomas  Morris, 
George  Bendall,  William  Ling,  and  George  Rounsivel, 
which  last  was  finally  reprieved  and  pardoned.  The 
other  seven  were  acquitted,  it  appearing  that  they  were 
forced. 

The  following  is  the  sentence  pronounced  upon 
the  prisoners: — 

THE  COURT  having  duly  considered  of  the  evi- 
dence which  hath  been  given  both  for  and  against 
you  the  said  John  Augur,  William  Cunningham, 
Dennis  Mackarthy,  William  Dowling,  William  Lewis, 
Thomas  Morris,  George  Bendall,  William  Ling,  and 
George  Rounsivel;  and  having  also  debated  the  sev- 
eral circumstances  of  the  cases,  it  is  adjudged,  that 
you  the  said  John  Augur,  William  Cunningham, 
Dennis  Mackarthy,  William  Dowling,  William  Lewis, 
Thomas  Morris,  George  Bendall,  William  Ling,  and 
George  Rounsivel,  are  guilty  of  the  mutiny,  felony, 
and  piracy,  wherewith  you  and  every  one  of  you  stand 
accused.  And  the  Court  doth  accordingly  pass  sen- 
tence, that  you  the  said  John  Augur,  William  Cun- 
ningham, Dennis  Mackarthy,  William  Dowling,  Wil- 
liam Lewis,  Thomas  Morris,  George  Bendall,  Wil- 
liam Ling,  and  George  Rounsivel,  be  carried  to  prison 
from  whence  you  came,  and  from  thence  to  the  place 
of  execution,  where  you  are  to  be  hanged  by  the  neck 
till  you  shall  be  dead,  dead,  dead;  and  God  have  mercy 


38  gri:at  piratf.  stories 

on  your  souls.      Ciivcn  under  our  hands  this   lOth  day 
of  December,  A.  n.  1718.      (Signed) 

fV nodes  Rogers,  ly'tngate  Gale, 

IViU'tam  Fairfax,  Nathaniel  Taylor, 

Robert  BcaKchamp,  Josias  Burgiss, 

llionias  Walker,  Peter  (Jourant. 

After  sentence  was  passed  upon  the  prisoners,  the 

governor,   as  president  of  the  court,   appointed   their 

execution    to    be    on    Friday    next,    the    12th    inst.    at 

10  o'ch)ck  in  the  morning. 

Whereupon  the  prisoners  prayed  for  longer  time 
to  repent  and  prepare  for  death;  but  the  governor 
told  them,  that  from  the  time  of  their  being  appre- 
hended, they  ought  to  have  accounted  themselves 
as  condemned  by  the  laws  of  all  nations,  which  was 
only  sealed  now,  and  that  the  securing  them  hither-to, 
and  the  favour  that  the  Court  had  allowed  them 
in  making  as  long  a  defence  as  they  could,  wholly 
took  up  that  time  which  the  affairs  of  the  settlement 
required  in  working  at  the  fortifications;  besides  the 
fatigue  thereby  occasioned  to  the  whole  garrison  in 
the  necessary  guards,  set  over  them  by  the  want  of 
a  gaol,  and  the  garrison  having  been  very  much  re- 
duced by  sickness  and  death  since  his  arrival;  also, 
that  he  was  obliged  to  employ  all  his  people  to  as- 
sist in  mounting  the  great  guns,  and  in  finishing  the 
present  works,  with  all  possible  despatch,  on  account 
of  the  expected  war  with  Spain;  and  there  being 
many  more  pirates  amongst  these  Islands,  and  this 
place  left  destitute  of  all  relief  from  any  man  of 
war  or  station  ship,  joined  to  other  reasons,  too  long 
to  enumerate  in  court,  he   thought  himself  Indlspen- 


ON  THE  SPANISH  MAIN  39 

sably  obliged,  for  the  welfare  of  the  settlement,  to 
give  them  no  longer  time. 

The  prisoners  were  then  ordered  to  the  place  of 
their  imprisonment  in  the  fort,  where  leave  was  given 
them  to  send  for  any  persons  to  read  and  pray  with 
them. 

On  Friday  morning  each  of  the  prisoners  was  called 
in  private,  to  know  if  they  had  any  load  upon  their 
spirits,  for  actions  committed  as  yet  unknown  to  the 
world,  the  declaring  of  which  was  absolutely  required 
to  prepare  themselves  for  a  fit  repentance;  but  they 
each  refused  to  declare  any  thing,  as  well  as  making 
known  to  the  governor,  if  they  knew  of  any  conspiracy 
against  the  government. 

Wherefore,  about  lo  o'clock,  the  prisoners  were 
released  from  their  irons,  and  committed  to  the  charge 
and  care  of  Thomas  Robinson,  Esq.  commissioned 
Provost  Marshal  for  the  day,  who,  according  to  cus- 
tom in  such  cases,  pinioned  them,  &c.  and  ordered  the 
guards  appointed  to  assist  him,  to  lead  them  to  the 
top  of  the  rampart,  fronting  the  sea,  which  was  well 
guarded  by  the  governor's  soldiers  and  people,  to  the 
number  of  about  lOO.  At  the  prisoners'  request,  sev- 
eral select  prayers  and  psalms  were  read,  in  which  all 
present  joined.  When  the  service  was  ended,  orders 
were  given  to  the  Marshal,  and  he  conducted  the  pris- 
oners down  a  ladder,  provided  on  purpose,  to  the  foot 
of  the  wall,  where  a  gallows  was  erected,  and  a  black 
flag  hoisted  thereon,  and  under  it  a  stage,  supported 
by  three  butts,  on  which  they  ascended  by  another 
ladder,  where  the  hangman  fastened  the  cords.  They 
had  three-quarters  of  an  hour  allowed  under  the  gal- 


40  GREAT  PIRATK  STORIES 

lows,  which  was  spent  by  them  in  singing  psalms, 
and  some  exhortations  to  their  old  consorts,  and  the 
other  spectators,  who  got  as  near  to  the  foot  of  the 
gallows  as  the  marshal's  guard  would  suffer  them. 
When  the  marshal  was  ordered  to  make  ready,  and 
all  the  prisoners  expected  the  launch,  the  governor 
thouglit  fit  to  order  (jeorge  Rounsivcl  to  be  untied, 
and  when  brought  off  the  stage,  the  butts  having 
ropes  about  them,  were  hauled  away;  upon  which, 
the  stage  fell,  and  the  prisoners  were  suspended. 

A  Short  Account  of  the  Prisoners  Executed. 

First,  John  Augur,  being  about  40  years  of  age, 
had  been  a  noted  shipmaster  at  Jamaica,  and  since 
among  the  pirates;  but  on  his  accepting  of  His  Ma- 
jesty's act  of  grace,  and  recommendations  to  the  gov- 
ernor, he  was,  notwithstanding,  entrusted  with  a  good 
vessel  and  cargo,  in  which,  betraying  his  trust,  and 
knowing  himself  guilty  of  the  indictment,  he  all  along 
appeared  very  penitent,  and  neither  washed,  shaved, 
or  shifted  his  old  clothes,  when  carried  to  be  executed; 
and  when  he  had  a  small  glass  of  wine  given  him  on 
the  rampart,  drank  it  with  wishes  for  the  good  success 
of  the  Bahama  Islands,  and  the  governor. 

The  second,  William  Cunningham,  aged  45,  had 
been  gunner  with  Thatch,  the  pirate,  who,  being  also 
conscious  of  his  own  guilt,  was  seemingly  penitent, 
and  behaved  himself  as  such. 

The  third,  Dennis  Mackarthy,  aged  28,  had  also 
been  formerly  a  pirate,  but  accepted  of  the  king's 
act  of  grace;  and  the  governor  had  made  him  an  en- 
sign of  the  militia,  being  recommended  as  a  sober,  dis- 


ON  THE  SPANISH  MAIN  41 

creet  person,  which  commission  he  had  at  the  time  of 
his  joining  the  pirates,  which  very  much  aggravated 
his  other  crimes.  During  his  imprisonment,  he  be- 
haved himself  tolerably  well;  but  when  he  thought 
he  was  to  die,  and  the  morning  came,  without  his  ex- 
pected reprieve,  he  shifted  his  clothes,  and  wore  long 
blue  ribands  at  his  neck,  wrists,  knees,  and  cap;  and 
when  on  the  rampart,  looked  cheerfully  round  him, 
saying.  He  knew  the  time  when  there  were  many  brave 
fellows  on  the  island,  who  would  not  have  suffered 
him  to  die  like  a  dog;  and  at  the  same  time  pulled  off 
his  shoes,  kicking  them  over  the  parapet  of  the  fort, 
saying.  He  had  promised  not  to  die  with  his  shoes  on; 
so  descended  the  fort  wall,  and  ascended  the  stage, 
with  the  agility  and  address  of  a  prize-fighter.  When 
mounted,  he  exhorted  the  people,  who  were  at  the 
foot  of  the  walls,  to  have  compassion  on  him;  but, 
however  willing,  they  saw  too  much  power  over  their 
heads  to  attempt  any  thing  in  his  favour. 

The  fourth,  William  Dowling,  about  24  years  of 
age,  had  been  a  considerable  time  among  the  pirates, 
of  a  wicked  life,  which  His  Majesty's  act  of  grace  did 
not  reform.  His  behaviour  was  very  loose  on  the 
stage,  and  after  his  death,  some  of  his  acquaintance 
declared,  he  had  confessed  to  them,  that  he  had  mur- 
dered his  mother  before  he  left  Ireland. 

The  fifth,  William  Lewis,  aged  about  34  years,  as 
he  had  been  a  hardy  pirate  and  prize-fighter,  affected 
an  unconcern  at  death;  but  heartily  desired  liquors  to 
drink  with  his  fellow-sufferers  on  the  stage,  and  with 
the  standers  by. 

The   sixth,   Thomas   Morris,   aged   about   22,   had 


42 


GREAT  PIRATE  STORIES 


been  a  very  incorrigible  youth  ami  pirate,  and  seemed 
to  have  very  httle  anxiety  of  mind  by  his  fretjuent 
smiles  when  at  the  bar.  Bein^  dressed  with  red 
ribands,  as  Mackarthy  was  with  blue,  he  said,  going 
over  the  ramparts,  l^Fc  have  a  new  governor,  but  a 
harsh  one;  and  a  little  before  he  was  turned  off,  said 
aloud,  he  might  have  been  a  greater  plague  to  these 
islands,  and  nozv  he  wished  he  had  been  so. 

The  sevefith,  George  Bendall,  aged  i8,  though 
he  said,  he  had  never  been  a  pirate  before,  yet  he  had 
all  the  villanous  inclinations  the  most  profligate  youth 
could  be  infected  with.     His  behaviour  was  sullen. 

The  eighth,  William  Ling,  aged  about  30,  not  taken 
notice  of  before  the  last  attempt,  behaved  himself 
as  became  a  true  penitent,  and  was  not  heard  to  say 
any  thing  besides  replying  to  Lewis,  when  he  demanded 
wine  to  drink,  that  water  was  more  suitable  to  them  at 
that  time. 

It  was  observed  that  there  were  but  few  (besides 
the  governor's  adherents)  among  the  spectators,  who 
had  not  deserved  the  same  fate,  but  pardoned  by  His 
Majesty's  act  of  grace. 


-^^' 


ADAM  PENFEATHER'S  NARRATIVE  ^ 

[From  "Black  Bartlemy's  Treasure,"  by  Jeffery 
Farnol] 


M 


"]\  /f"  INE  is  a  strange,  wild  story,  Martin,  but 
needs  must  I  tell  it  and  in  few  words 
as  may  be.  Fifteen  years  agone  (or 
thereabouts)  I  became  one  of  that  league  known  as 
the  Brotherhood  of  the  Coast  and  swore  comradeship 
with  one  Nicholas  Frant,  a  Kent  man,  even  as  I. 
Now  though  I  was  full  young  and  a  cautious  man, 
yet,  having  a  natural  hatred  of  Spaniards  and  their 
ways,  I  wrought  right  well  against  them  and  was 
mighty  diligent  in  many  desperate  affrays  against  their 
ships  and  along  the  Coast.  'Twas  I  (and  my  good 
comrade,  Nick  Frant)  with  sixteen  lusty  lads  took  sea 
in  an  open  pinnace  and  captured  the  great  treasure 
galleon  Dolores  del  Principe  off  Carthagena,  and  what 
with  all  this,  Martin,  and  my  being  blessed  with  some 
education  and  a  gift  of  adding  two  and  two  together, 
I  got  me  rapid  advancement  in  the  Brotherhood  until 
— well,  shipmate,  I  that  am  poor  and  solitary  was  once 
rich  and  with  nigh  a  thousand  bully  fellows  at  com- 
mand. And  then  it  was  that  I  fell  in  with  that  arch- 
devil,  that  master  rogue  whose  deeds  had  long  been 

1  Reprinted  by  permission   of  Little,  Brown  and  Company. 

43 


44  GREAT  PIRATE  STORIES 

a  terror  throughout  the  Main,  a  fcHow  more  bloody 
than  any  Spaniard,  m(jrc  treacherous  than  any  Portu- 
gal, and  more  cruel  than  any  Indian-Inca,  Mosquito, 
Maya  or  Aztec,  and  this  man  an  Englishman,  and 
one  of  birth  and  breeding,  who  hid  his  identity  under 
the  name  of  Bartlcmy.  I  met  him  first  in  Tortuga 
where  we  o'  the  Brotherhood  lay,  six  stout  ships  and 
nigh  four  hundred  men  convened  for  an  expedition 
against  Santa  Catalina  and  this  for  two  reasons;  first, 
because  'twas  a  notable  rich  city,  and  second,  to  res- 
cue certain  of  the  Brotherhood  that  lay  there  waiting 
to  be  burnt  at  the  next  auto-da-fe.  Well,  Martin,  'tis 
upon  a  certain  evening  that  this  Bartlemy  comes 
aboard  my  ship  and  with  him  his  mate,  by  name  Tres- 
sady.  And  never  was  greater  difference  than  'twixt 
these  two,  Tressady  being  a  great,  wild  fellow  with  a 
steel  hook  in  place  of  his  left  hand,  d'ye  see,  and  Bart- 
lemy a  slender,  dainty-seeming,  friendly-smiling  gentle- 
man, very  nice  as  to  speech  and  deportment  and  clad  in 
the  latest  mode,  from  curling  periwig  to  jewelled  shoe 
buckles. 

"  'Captain  Penfeather,'  says  he,  'your  most  dutiful, 
humble — ha,  let  me  perish  but  here  is  curst  reek  o' 
tar !'  with  which,  Martin,  he  claps  a  jewelled  pomander 
to  the  delicate  nose  of  him.  'Y-ou've  heard  of  me,  I 
think,  Captain,'  says  he,  'and  of  my  ship,  yonder,  The 
Ladies'  Delight?'  I  told  him  I  had,  Martin,  bluntly 
and  to  the  point,  whereat  he  laughs  and  bows  and 
forthwith  proffers  to  aid  us  against  Santa  Catalina, 
the  which  I  refused  forthwith.  But  my  council  of  cap- 
tains, seeing  his  ship  was  larger  than  any  we  possessed 
and  exceeding  well  armed  and  manned,  overruled  me, 


ADAM  PENFEATHER'S  NARRATIVE     45 

and  the   end  of  it  was  we   sailed,   six   ships   of   the 
Brotherhood  and  this  accursed  pirate. 

"Well,  Martin,  Santa  Catalina  fell  according  to  my 
plans  and,  the  Governor  and  Council  agreeing  to  pay 
ransom,  I  drew  off  my  companies  and  camped  outside 
the  walls  of  the  town  till  they  should  collect  the 
money.  Now  the  women  of  this  place  were  exceed- 
ing comely,  Martin,  in  especial  the  Governor's  lady, 
and  upon  the  second  night  was  sudden  outcry  and  up- 
roar within  the  city.  Whereupon  I  marched  into  the 
place  forthwith  and  found  this  curst  Bartlemy  and  his 
rogues,  grown  impatient,  were  at  their  devil's  work. 
Hasting  to  the  Governor's  house,  I  found  it  gutted 
and  him  dragged  from  his  bed  and  with  the  life  gashed 
out  of  him — aye,  Martin,  torn  body  and  throat,  d'ye 
see,  as  by  the  fangs  of  some  great  beast!  That  was 
the  first  time  I  saw  what  a  steel  hook  may  do!  As 
for  this  poor  gentleman's  lady,  she  was  gone.  Here- 
upon, we  o'  the  Brotherhood  fell  upon  these  pirate 
rogues  and  fought  them  by  light  o'  the  blazing  houses 
(for  they  had  fired  the  city)  and  I,  thus  espying  the 
devil  Bartlemy,  met  him  point  to  point.  He  was 
very  full  o'  rapier  tricks,  but  so  was  I,  Martin  (also  I 
was  younger)  and  winged  him  sore  and  had  surely 
ended  him,  but  that  Tressady  and  divers  others  got 
him  away  and  what  with  the  dark  night  and  the  woods 
that  lie  shorewards  he,  together  with  some  few  of  his 
crew,  got  them  back  aboard  his  ship,  The  Ladies'  De- 
light and  so  away,  but  twelve  of  his  rogues  we  took 
(beyond  divers  we  slew  in  fight)  and  those  twelve  I 
saw  hanged  that  same  hour.  A  week  later  we  sailed 
for  Tortuga  with  no  less  than  ninety  and  one  thou- 


46  GREAT  PIRATF  STORIES 

sand  pieces  of  eight  for  our  labour,  but  I  and  those 
with  me  never  had  the  spending  of  a  single  piece, 
Martin,  for  wc  ran  into  a  storm  such  as  I  never  saw 
the  like  of  even  in  those  seas.  Well,  wc  ran  afore  it 
for  three  days,  antl  its  fury  nothing  abating  all  this 
time,  I  never  (juit  the  deck;  but  I  had  been  wounded 
and  on  the  third  night,  being  fevered  and  outworn, 
turned  in  belrtw.  I  was  awakened  by  Nick  Frant 
roaring  in  my  ear,  for  the  tempest  was  very  loud  and 
fierce : 

"  *Adam,'  cried  he,  'we're  lost,  every  soul  and  the 
good  money!  We've  struck  a  reef,  Adam,  and  'tis 
the  end,  and  a'  of  the  good  money!'"  Hereupon  I 
climbed  'bove  deck,  the  vessel  on  her  beam  ends  and 
in  desperate  plight,  and  nought  to  be  seen  i'  the  dark 
save  the  white  spume  as  the  seas  broke  over  us. 
None  the  less  I  set  the  crew  to  cutting  away  her  masts 
and  heaving  the  ordnance  overboard  (to  lighten  her 
thereby),  but  while  this  was  doing  comes  a  great  wave 
roaring  out  of  the  dark  and,  dashing  aboard  us, 
whirled  me  up  and  away  and  I,  borne  aloft  on  that 
mighty,  hissing  sea,  strove  no  more,  doubting  not  my 
course  was  run.  So,  blinded,  choking,  I  was  borne 
aloft  and  then,  Martin,  found  myself  adrift  in  water 
calm  as  any  mill  pond — a  small  lagoon — and,  spying 
through  the  dark  a  grove  of  palmetto  trees,  presently 
managed  to  climb  ashore,  more  dead  than  alive.  Ly- 
ing there,  I  prayed — a  thing  I  had  not  done  for  many 
a  year.  As  the  dawn  came  I  saw  the  great  wave  had 
hurled  me  over  the  barrier  reef  into  this  small  lagoon, 
and  beyond  the  reef  lay  all  that  remained  of  my  good 
ship. 


ADAM  PENFEATHER'S  NARRATIVE    47 

"I  was  yet  viewing  this  dolorous  sight  (and  much 
cast  down  for  the  loss  of  my  companions,  in  especial 
my  sworn  friend  Nicholas  Frant)  when  I  heard  a 
sound  behind  me  and,  turning  about,  espied  a  woman, 
and  in  this  woman's  face  (fair  though  it  was)  I  read 
horror  and  sadness  beyond  tears,  and  yet  I  knew  her, 
for  the  same  had  been  wife  to  the  murdered  governor 
of  Santa  Catalina. 

"'Go  back!'  says  she  in  Spanish,  pointing  to  the 
surf  that  thundered  beyond  the  reef.  'Go  back! 
Here  is  the  devil — the  sea  hath  more  mercy — go  back 
whiles  ye  may!'  And  now  she  checked  all  at  once 
and  falls  a-shivering,  for  a  voice  reached  us,  a  man's 
voice  a-singing  fair  to  hear  and  the  song  he  sang  was 
this, 

*Hey  cheerly  O  and  cheerly  O 

And  cheerly  come  sing  O 

While  at  the  mafnyard  to  and  fro — ' 

and  knowing  this  voice  (to  my  cost)  I  looked  around 
for  some  weapon,  since  I  had  none  and  was  all  but 
naked,  and  whipping  up  a  jagged  and  serviceable 
stone,  stood  awaiting  him  with  this  in  my  fist.  And 
down  the  beach  he  comes,  jocund  and  debonair  in  his 
finery,  albeit  something  pale  by  reason  of  excess  and 
my  rapier  work.  And  now  I  come  to  look  at  you, 
Martin,  he  was  just  such  another  as  you  as  to  face 
and  feature,  though  lacking  your  beef  and  bone. 
Now  he,  beholding  me  where  I  stood,  flourishes  off 
his  be-laced  hat  and,  making  me  a  bow,  comes  on 
smiling. 

"  'Ah,'  says  he  gaily,  '  'tis  Captain  Penfeather  of 


48  GRKAT  PIRATE  STORIES 

the  Brotherhood,  a-collogulrif^  with  my  latest  wife! 
Is  she  not  a  pearl  o'  dainty  woman-ware,  Captain,  a 
sweet  and  luscious  piece,  a  passionate,  proud  beauty 
worth  the  taming — ha.  Captain?  And  she  is  tamed, 
see  you.      To  your  dainty  knees,  wench — down  I' 

"Now  though  he  smiled  yet  and  spake  lier  gentle, 
she,  bowinjT  proud  head,  sank  to  her  knees,  crouching 
on  the  ground  before  him,  while  he  looked  down  on 
her,  the  devil  in  his  eyes  and  his  jewelled  fingers  toy- 
ing with  the  dagger  in  his  girdle,  a  strange  dagger 
with  a  hilt  wrought  very  artificially  in  the  shape  of  a 
naked  woman — " 

"How,"  asked  I,  "a  woman,  Penfeather?" 
"Aye,  shipmate!  So  I  stood  mighty  alert,  my  eyes 
on  this  dagger,  being  minded  to  whip  it  into  his 
rogue's  heart  as  chance  might  offer.  'I  wonder,' 
says  he  to  this  poor  lady,  'I  wonder  how  long  I  shall 
keep  thee,  madonna,  a  week — a  month — a  year? 
Venus  knoweth,  for  you  amuse  me,  sweet — Rise,  rise, 
dear  my  lady,  my  Dolores  of  Joy,  rise  and  aid  me  with 
thy  counsel,  for  here  hath  this  misfortunate  clumsy 
Captain  fool  blundered  into  our  amorous  paradise, 
this  tender  Cyprian  isle  sacred  to  our  passion.  Yet 
here  is  he  profaning  our  joys  with  his  base  material 
presence.  How  then  shall  we  rid  ourselves  of  this 
offence?  The  knife — this  lover  o'  men  of  mine? 
The  bullet?  Yet  'tis  a  poor  small  naked  rogue,  and 
in  two  days  cometh  my  Ladies'  Delight  and  Tressady 
with  his  hook — see,  my  Dolores,  for  two  days  he  shall 
be  our  slave  and  thereafter,  for  thy  joy,  shall  show 
thee  how  to  die,  my  sweet — torn  'twixt  pimento  trees 
or  Tressady's   hook — thou   shalt  choose   the   manner 


ADAM  PENFEATHER'S  NARRATIVE     49 

of  't.  And  now,  unveil,  unveil,  my  goddess  of  the  isle 
— so  shall — '  Ha,  Martin!  My  stone  took  him 
'neath  the  ear,  and  as  he  swayed  reeling  to  the  blow, 
lithe  and  swift  as  any  panther  this  tortured  woman 
sprang,  and  I  saw  the  flash  of  steel  ere  it  was  buried 
in  his  breast.  Even  then  he  didn't  fall,  but,  stagger- 
ing to  a  pimento  tree,  leans  him  there  and  falls 
a-laughing,  a  strange,  high-pitched,  gasping  laugh,  and 
as  he  laughed  thus,  I  saw  the  silver  haft  of  the  dagger 
that  was  a  woman  leap  and  quiver  in  his  breast. 
Then,  laughing  yet,  he,  never  heeding  me,  plucked  and 
levelled  sudden  pistol,  and  when  the  smoke  cleared 
the  brave  Spanish  lady  lay  dead  upon  the  sands. 

"  'A  noble  piece,  Captain,'  says  he,  gasping  for 
breath,  and  then  to  her.  'Art  gone,  my  goddess — I 
— follow  thee !'  And  now  he  sinks  to  his  knees  and 
begins  to  crawl  where  she  lay,  but  getting  no  further 
than  her  feet  (by  reason  of  faintness)  he  clasps  her 
feet  and  kisses  them,  and  laying  his  head  upon  them — 
closes  his  eyes.  'Penfeather !'  he  groans,  'my  trea- 
sure— hidden — dagger — ' 

"Then  I  came  very  hastily  and  raised  his  head  (for 
I  had  oft  heard  talk  o'  this  treasure)  and  in  that  mo- 
ment he  died.  So  I  left  them  lying  and  coming  to  the 
seaboard  sat  there  a  great  while,  watching  the  break  o' 
the  seas  on  what  was  left  o'  the  wreck,  yet  seeing  it 
not.  I  sat  there  till  noon,  Martin,  until,  driven  by 
thirst  and  hunger  and  heat  of  sun,  I  set  off  to  seek 
their  habitation,  for  by  their  looks  I  judged  them 
well-fed  and  housed.  But,  and  here  was  the  marvel, 
Martin,  seek  how  I  might  I  found  no  sign  of  any  hut 
or  shelter  save  that  afforded  by  nature  (as  caves  and 


50  GREAT  PIRATF  STORIES 

trees)  and  was  forced  to  satisfy  my  cravinf^s  with  such 
fruits  as  flourished  in  profusion,  for  this  island,  Mar- 
tin, is  a  very  earthly  paradise. 

"That  night,  the  moon  being  high  and  bright,  I 
came  to  that  stretch  of  silver  sand  beside  the  lagoon 
where  they  lay  together  rigid  and  pale  and,  though 
I  had  no  other  tool  but  his  dagger  and  a  piece  o'  drift- 
wood, made  shift  to  bury  them  'neath  the  great 
pimento  tree  that  stood  beside  the  rock,  and  both  in 
the  same  grave.  Which  done,  I  betook  me  to  a  dry 
cave  hard  by  a  notable  fall  of  water  that  plungeth 
into  a  lake  and  there  passed  the  night.  Next  day, 
having  explored  the  island  very  thoroughly  and  dined 
as  best  I  might  on  shell  fish  that  do  abound,  I  sat  me 
down  where  I  might  behold  the  sea  and  fell  to  viewing 
of  this  silver-hilted  dagger — " 

"The  which  was  shaped  like  a  woman?"  asked  I. 

"Aye,  Martin.  And  now,  bethinking  me  of  Bart- 
lemy's  dying  words  anent  this  same  dagger,  and  of 
the  tales  I  had  heard  full  oft  along  the  Main  regard- 
ing this  same  Bartlemy  and  his  hidden  treasure,  I  fell 
to  handling  this  dagger,  turning  and  twisting  it  this 
way  and  that.  And  suddenly,  shipmate,  I  felt  the 
head  turn  upon  the  shoulders  'twixt  the  clasping 
hands;  turn  and  turn  until  it  came  away  and  showed 
a  cavity,  and  In  this  cavity  a  roll  of  parchment  and 
that  parchment  none  other  than  this  map  with  the 
cryptogram  the  which  I  could  make  nought  of. 

"Now  as  I  sat  thus,  studying  this  meaningless 
jumble  of  words,  I  of  a  sudden  espied  a  man  below 
me  on  the  reef,  a  wild,  storm-tossed  figure,  his  scanty 
clothing  all  shreds  and  tatters,  and  as  he  went  seeking 


ADAM  PENFEATHER'S  NARRATIVE     51 

of  shellfish  that  were  plenteous  enough,  I  knew  him 
for  my  sworn  comrade  Nick  Frant.  And  then, 
Martin,  I  did  a  strange  thing,  for,  blood-brothers 
though  we  were,  I  made  haste  (and  all  of  a  tremble) 
to  sHp  back  this  map  into  its  hiding  place,  which  done 
I  arose,  haihng  my  comrade,  and  went  to  meet  him 
joyously  enough.  And  no  two  men  in  the  world  more 
rejoiced  than  we,  as  we  clasped  hands  and  embraced 
each  other  as  only  comrades  may.  It  seemed  the 
hugeous  sea  that  had  caught  me  had  caught  him  like- 
wise and  hurled  him,  sore  bruised,  some  miles  to  the 
south  of  the  reef.  So  now  I  told  him  of  the  deaths  of 
Bartlemy  and  the  poor  lady,  yet  Martin  (and  this 
was  strange)  I  spoke  nothing  of  knife  or  treasure; 
I  told  him  of  the  expectation  I  had  of  the  pirate 
ship's  return,  and  yet  I  never  once  spake  o'  the  map 
and  chart.  And  methinks  the  secret  cast  a  shadow 
betwixt  us  that  grew  ever  deeper,  for  as  the  days 
passed  and  no  sail  appeared,  there  came  a  strangeness, 
an  unlove  betwixt  us  that  grew  until  one  day  we  fell 
to  open  quarrel,  disputation  and  deadly  strife,  and 
the  matter  no  more  than  a  dead  man's  shirt  (and  that 
ragged)  that  had  come  ashore. 

"And  we  (being  in  rags  and  the  sun  scorching)  each 
claimed  this  shirt,  and  from  words  came  blows.  He 
had  his  seaman's  knife  and  I  Bartlemy's  accursed  dag- 
ger, and  so  we  fought  after  the  manner  of  the  buc- 
caneers, his  leg  bound  fast  to  mine  and,  Martin, 
though  he  was  a  great  fellow  and  strong  and  wounded 
me  sore,  in  the  end  I  got  in  a  thrust  under  the  armpit, 
and  he  fell  a-dying  and  I  with  him.  Then  I  (seeing 
death  in  his  eyes,  Martin)    clasped  him  in  my  arms 


52  GRFAT  PIRATE  STORIES 

and  kissed  him  and  besought  him  not  to  die,  whereat 
he  smiled.  'Adam!'  says  he,  'why,  Adam,  lad — '  and 
so  died. 

"Then  I  took  that  accursed  dagger,  wet  with  my 
comrade's  life  hlof)d,  and  hurleil  it  from  me,  and  so 
with  many  tears  and  lamentations  I  presently  buried 
poor  Nick  Frant  in  the  sands  and  lay  there  face  down 
upon  his  grave,  wetting  it  with  my  tears  and  groaning 
there  till  nightfall.  But  all  next  day,  Martin  (though 
my  heart  yearned  to  my  slain  friend),  all  next  day  I 
spent  seeking  and  searching  for  the  dagger  that  had 
killed  him.  And  as  the  sun  set,  I  found  it.  There- 
after I  passed  my  days  (since  the  pirate  ship  came  not, 
doubtless  owing  to  the  late  tempest)  studying  the  writ- 
ing on  the  chart  here,  yet  came  no  nearer  a  solution, 
though  my  imagination  was  inflamed  by  mention  of 
diamonds,  rubies  and  pearls  as  ye  may  see  written  here 
for  yourself.  So  the  time  passed  till  one  day  at  dawn 
I  beheld  a  great  ship,  her  mizzen  and  fore-topmasts 
gone,  standing  in  for  my  island,  and  as  she  drew 
nearer,  I  knew  her  at  last  for  that  accursed  pirate  ship 
called  Ladies'  Delight.  Being  come  to  anchor  within 
some  half  mile  or  so,  I  saw  a  boat  put  oft  for  the  reef 
and,  lying  well  hid,  I  watched  this  boat,  steered  by  a 
knowing  hand,  pass  through  the  reef  by  a  narrow  chan- 
nel and  so  enter  the  lagoon.  Now  in  this  boat  were 
six  men  and  at  the  rudder  sat  Tressady,  and  I  saw  his 
hook  flash  in  the  sun  as  he  sprang  ashore.  Having 
beached  their  boat,  they  fell  to  letting  off  their  cali- 
vers  and  pistols  and  hallooing: 

"'Oho,  Captain!'  they  roared.  'Bartlemy,  ahoy!' 
And  this  outcry  maintained  they  for  some  while.      But 


ADAM  PENFEATHER'S  NARRATIVE    53 

none  appearing  to  answer,  they  seemed  to  take  counsel 
together  and  thereafter  set  off  three  and  three,  shout- 
mg  as  they  went.  And  now  it  seemed  they  knew  no 
more  of  Bartlemy's  hiding  place  than  I,  whereat  I  re- 
joiced greatly.  So  lay  I  all  that  forenoon  watching 
their  motions  and  hearing  their  outcries  now  here, 
now  there,  until,  marvelling  at  the  absence  of  Bart- 
lemy,  they  sat  down  all  six  upon  the  spit  of  sand 
whereby  I  lay  hid  and  fell  to  eating  and  drinking, 
talking  the  while,  though  too  low  for  me  to  hear  what 
passed.  But  all  at  once  they  seemed  to  fall  to  dis- 
putation, Tressady  and  a  small,  dark  fellow  against 
the  four,  and  thereafter  to  brawl  and  fight,  though 
this  was  more  butchery  than  fight,  Martin,  for  Tres- 
sady shoots  down  two  ere  they  can  rise  and,  leaping 
up,  falls  on  other  two  with  his  hook — !  So  with  aid 
from  the  small,  dark  fellow  they  soon  have  made  an 
end  o'  their  four  companions  and,  leaving  them  lying, 
come  up  the  beach  and  sitting  below  the  ledge  of  rock 
whereon  I  lay  snug  hidden,  fell  to  talk. 

"  'So  Ben,  comarado  mio,  we  be  committed  to  it 
now !  Since  these  four  be  dead  and  all  men  well- 
loved  by  Bartlemy,  needs  must  Bartlemy  follow  'em !' 

"  'Aye !'  says  the  man  Ben,  'when  we  have  found 
him.     Though  Bartlemy's  a  fighting  man!' 

"  'And  being  a  man  can  die,  Ben.  And  he  once 
dead,  we  stand  his  heirs — you  and  I,  Ben,  I  and  you!' 

"  'Well  and  good!'  says  Ben.  'But  for  this  treas- 
ure, where  lieth  it  and  for  that  matter,  Roger,  where 
is  Bartlemy?' 

"  'Both  to  find,  Ben,  so  let  us  set  about  it  forthwith.' 
The   which   they   did,    Martin;    for   three   days    they 


54  GREAT  PIRATE  STORIES 

sought  tlic  island  over  and  I  watching  'cm.  On  the 
third  day,  as  they  arc  sitting  'neath  the  great  pimento 
tree  I  have  mentioned  (and  I  watching  close  by), 
Tressady  sits  up  all  at  once. 

"  'Ben!'  says  he,  'what  be  yon?'  and  he  pointed  to 
a  mound  of  sand  hard  by. 

"  'Lord  knoweth  !'  says  Ben. 

"  'Yon's  been  digging,'  says  Tressady,  'and  none  so 
long  since  !' 

"  'Aye,'  said  Ben,  'and  now  what?' 

"  'Now,'   says  Tressady,   'let  us   dig  likewise.' 

"  'Aye,  but  what  with?'  says  Ben. 

"  'Our  fingers!'  says  Tressady.  So  there  and  then 
they  fell  to  digging,  casting  up  the  loose  sand  with 
their  two  hands,  dog-fashion  and  I,  watching,  turned 
my  head  that  I  might  not  see. 

"  'Ha  !'  says  Tressady,  in  a  while,  'here  is  foul  reek. 
Ben,  foul  reek.' 

"  'Right  curst!'  says  Ben  and  then  uttered  a  great, 
hoarse  cry.  And  I,  knowing  what  they  had  come 
upon,  kept  my  face  turned  away.  ' 'Tis  she!'  whis- 
pers Ben. 

"  'Aye,  and  him!'  says  Tressady.  'Faugh!  Man, 
'tis  ill  thing,  but  needs  must — his  dagger,  Ben,  his 
dagger.' 

"  'Here's  no  dagger,'  says  Ben.  'Here's  empty 
sheath  but  no  steel  in't!' 

"  '  'Tis  fallen  out !'  says  Tressady  in  strangled 
voice.  'Seek,  Ben,  seek!'  So  despite  the  horror  of 
the  thing,  they  sought,  Martin;  violating  death  and 
careless  of  corruption  they  sought,  and  all  the  time 
the  thing  they  sought  was  quivering  in  this  right  hand. 


ADAM  PENFEATHER'S  NARRATIVE     55 

"  'Ben,'  says  Tressady  when  they  were  done,  'Ben 
— how  came  he  dead — how?' 

"'Who  shall  say,  Roger?  Mayhap  they  did  each 
other's  business.' 

"  'Why  then — where's  the  dagger  o'  the  woman — 
the  silver  goddess — where?  And  how  came  they 
buried?' 

"  'Aye,  there's  the  rub,  Roger!' 

"  'Why,'  says  Tressady,  'look'ee,  Ben,  'tis  in  my 
mind  we're  not  alone  on  this  island — ' 

"  'And  who  should  be  here,  Roger?' 

"'The  man  that  slew  our  Captain!'  Here  there 
was  silence  awhile;  then  the  man  Ben  rose  and  spat. 

"'Faugh!'  says  he.  'Come  away,  Roger,  ere  I 
stifle — come,  i'  the  devil's  name!'  So  they  went  and 
I  lying  hid  secure  watched  them  out  of  sight. 

"Now  when  they  were  gone  I  took  counsel  with 
myself,  for  here  were  two  desperate,  bloody  rogues 
very  well  armed,  and  here  was  I  a  solitary  man  with 
nought  to  my  defence  save  for  Nick's  knife  and  the 
silver-hilted  dagger  which  was  heavy  odds,  Martin,  as 
you'll  agree.  Now  I  have  ever  accounted  myself  a 
something  timid  man,  wherefore  in  cases  of  desperate 
need  and  danger  I  have  been  wont  to  rely  on  my  wit 
rather  than  weapons,  on  head  rather  than  hands.  So 
now  as  I  looked  upon  this  cursed  dagger  wherewith  I 
had  slain  my  poor  friend,  beholding  this  evil  silver 
woman  whose  smile  seemed  verily  to  allure  men  to 
strife  and  bloodshed,  the  end  of  it  was  I  stole  from 
my  lurking  place  and  set  the  dagger  amid  the  gnarled 
roots  of  the  great  pimento  tree  where  it  might  have 
slipped  from  dying  fingers,  and  so  got  me  back  into 


56  GRFAT  PIRATF  STORIES 

hiding.  And  sure  enough  in  a  while  comes  the  big 
man  Trcssacly,  a-stcaling  furtive-fashion,  and  falls 
to  hunting  both  in  the  open  grave  and  round  about 
Init,  finding  nothing,  steals  him  off  again.  Scarce  was 
he  out  of  eye-shot,  Martin,  than  cometh  the  little  dark 
fellow  Ben,  who  likewise  fell  to  stealthy  search,  grub- 
bing here  and  there  on  hands  and  knees  yet  with  none 
better  fortune  than  his  comrade.  But  of  a  sudden  he 
gives  a  spring  and,  stooping,  stands  erect  with  Bart- 
lemy's  dagger  in  his  hand.  Now  scarce  had  he  found 
it  than  comes  Tressady  creeping  from  where  he  had 
lain  watching. 

"  'Ha,  Ben!'  says  he  jovially.  'How  then,  lad,  how 
then?  Hast  found  what  we  sought?  Here's  luck, 
Ben,  here's  luck!  Aye,  by  cock,  'tis  your  fortune  to 
find  it,  and  your  fortune's  my  fortune,  eh,  Ben — us 
being  comrades,  Ben?' 

"  'Aye,'  says  Ben,  turning  the  dagger  this  way  and 
that. 

"  'Ha'  ye  come  on  the  chart,  Ben;  ha'  ye  found  the 
luck  in't,  Ben?' 

"  'Stay,  Roger,  I've  but  just  picked  it  up! — ' 

"  'And  was  coming  to  your  comrade  with  it,  eh,  Ben 
— share  and  share — eh,  Benno — Bennie?' 

"  'Aye,'  says  Ben,  staring  down  at  the  thing,  'but 
'twas  me  as  found  it,  Roger!' 

"  'And  what  then,  lad,  what  then?' 

"  'Why,  then,  Roger,  since  I  found  it,  'tis  mine,' 
says  he,  gripping  the  dagger  in  quivering  fist  and 
glancing  up  sideways. 

'"Hilt  and  blade,  Ben!' 

"  'And  the  chart,  Roger!' 


ADAM  PEN  FEATHER'S  NARRATIVE     57 

"  'Aye,  and  the  chart,  Ben !'  says  Tressady,  coming 
a  pace  nearer,  and  I  saw  his  hook  glitter. 

"  'And  the  treasure,  Roger?'  says  Ben,  making  little 
passes  in  the  air  to  see  the  blue  gleam  of  the  steel. 

"  'AH  yours,  Ben,  all  yours,  and  what's  yours  is 
mine,  according  to  oath,  Ben,  to  oath!  But  come, 
Ben,  you  hold  the  secret  o'  the  treasure  in  your  fist — 
the  silver  goddess.  Come,  the  chart,  lad,  out  wi'  the 
chart,  and  Bartlemy's  jewels  are  ours — pearls,  Ben — 
diamonds,  rubies — aha,  come,  find  the  chart — let  your 
comrade  aid  ye,  lad — ' 

"  'Stand  back!'  says  Ben  and  whips  a  pistol  from  his 
belt.  'Look'ee,  Roger,'  says  he,  'I  found  the  dagger 
without  ye,  and  I'll  find  the  chart — stand  back!' 

"  'Why,  here's  ill  manners  to  a  comrade,  Ben,  ill 
manners,  sink  me — but  as  ye  will.  Only  out  wi'  the 
chart,  and  let's  go  seek  the  treasure,  Ben.' 

"  'D'ye  know  the  secret  o'  this  thing,  Roger?' 

'"Not  I,  Ben!' 

"  'Why,  then  must  I  break  it  asunder.  Hand  me 
yon  piece  o'  rock,'  says  Ben,  pointing  to  a  heavy  stone 
that  chanced  to  be  near. 

"  'Stay,  Ben  lad,  'twere  pity  to  crush  the  silver 
woman,  but  If  you  will,  you  will,  Ben — take  a  hold!' 
So  saying,  Tressady  ^picked  up  the  stone,  but,  as  his 
comrade  reached  to  take  it,  let  it  fall,  whereon  Ben 
stooped  for  it,  and  in  that  moment  Tressady  was  on 
him.  And  then — ha,  Martin,  I  heard  the  man  Ben 
scream  and  as  he  writhed,  saw  Tressady's  hook  at 
work  .  .  .  the  man  screamed  but  once  .  .  .  and 
then,  wiping  the  hook  on  his  dead  comrade's  coat,  he 
took  up  the  dagger  and  began  to  unscrew  the  head. 


58  GRKAT  PIRATE  STORIES 

But  now,  Martin,  mctlu)u^}it  'twas  time  for  me  to  act, 
if  I  meant  to  save  my  life,  for  I  had  nought  but  Nick 
Frant's  knife,  while  within  Trcssady's  reach  lay  the 
dead  man's  pistols  and  divers  muscjuetoons  and  fusees 
on  the  beach  behind  him,  which  put  me  to  no  small 
panic  lest  he  shoot  me  ere  I  could  come  at  lilm  with  my 
knife.  riius,  as  I  lay  watching,  I  took  counsel  witli 
myself  how  I  might  lure  him  away  from  these  firearms 
wherewith  he  might  hunt  me  down  and  destroy  me  at 
his  ease;  and  the  end  of  it  was  I  started  up  all  at  once 
and,  leaning  down  towards  him,  shook  the  parchment 
in  his  face.  'Ha,  Tressady!'  says  I.  'Is  this  the 
thing  you've  murdered  your  comrades  for?'  Now  at 
this  Tressady  sprang  back,  to  stare  from  me  to  the 
thing  in  my  hand,  Martin,  and  then — ha,  then  with  a 
wild-beast  roar  he  sprang  straight  at  me  with  his  hook 
— even  as  I  had  judged  he  would.  As  for  me,  I 
turned  and  ran,  making  for  a  rocky  ledge  I  knew,  with 
Tressady  panting  behind  me,  his  hook  ringing  on  the 
rocks  as  he  scrambled  in  pursuit.  So  at  last  we 
reached  the  place  I  sought — a  shelf  of  rock,  the  cliff 
on  one  side,  Martin,  and  on  the  other  a  void  with  the 
sea  thundering  far  below — a  narrow  ledge  where  his 
great  bulk  hampered  him  and  his  strength  availed 
little.  And  there  we  fought,  his  dagger  and  hook 
against  my  dead  comrade's  knife,  and  thus  as  he 
sprang,  I,  falling  on  my  knee,  smote  up  beneath  raised 
arm,  heard  him  roar  and  saw  him  go  whirling  over 
and  down  and  splash  into  the  sea — " 

"And  had  the  dagger  with  him,  Adam!"  said  I  in 
eager  question. 

"Aye,  Martin,  which  was  the  end  of  an  111  rogue 
and  an  evil  thing — " 


THE  CAPTURE  OF  JULIUS  CESAR 
[From  "The  Book  of  Pirates"  by  Henry  Gilbert] 

IT  was  a  brilliant  day  In  summer,  and  the  blue  of 
the  Mediterranean  was  answered  by  the  fleckless 
blue  of  the  sky,  out  of  which  the  sun  shone  with 
all  the  fierceness  of  noon.  In  a  rocky  creek  of  the 
island  of  Pharmacusa,  which  lay  a  few  miles  off  the 
coast  of  Caria,  In  Asia  Minor,  lay  a  long  black  galley, 
its  nose  of  burnished  copper  just  showing  outside  the 
entrance  of  the  creek.  With  its  benches  of  rowers 
who  sat  quietly  chatting,  their  black  oars  not  placed 
inboard,  but  ready  to  their  hands,  the  raking  mast  and 
the  huge  half-furled  sail,  the  galley  had  all  the  appear- 
ance of  a  vicious  scorpion  waiting  in  a  cleft  of  the 
rocks  for  some  unwary  prey.  Every  man  had  a  keen 
knife  at  his  girdle,  and  In  the  box  under  his  seat  were 
stores  of  javelins,  bows  and  arrows,  slings  and  stones. 
These  rowers  were  not  slaves:  each  took  part  and  lot 
In  the  enterprise  on  which  they  were  engaged;  each 
was  a  seaman  and  a  fighter,  as  apt  at  the  oar  or  the 
sail  as  at  the  set-to  with  knife  or  short  throwing-spear. 
Indeed,  this  was  the  galley  Milvus,  "The  Kite,"  one 
of  the  scouting  vessels  of  the  pirate  chief  Spartaco, 
leader  of  a  band  of  sea-rovers  whose  name  was  a 
name  of  terror  up  and  down  the  coasts  of  Asia  Minor, 
from  the  Hellespont  to  Tyre,  In  Syria. 

Three  men  sat  In  the  little  cabin  on  the  high-curving 
poop,  from  which  they  had  a  wide  view  over  the  deck 
of  the  vessel  and  away  to  where  the  shores  of  Caria 

59 


60  GREAT  PIRATE  STORIES 

shimmered  In  the  heat  haze.  They  were  waiting  for 
any  merchant-vessels  beating  up  in  the  south-west 
wind  from  Greece  or  Italy,  and  making  for  Miletus  or 
Ephesus.  To  pass  the  time  away  they  were  throwing 
dice,  but  the  day  was  hot  and  the  game  dragged. 

"Zeus!"  said  one,  named  Micio,  yawning.  "As 
well  be  li/.ards  baking  on  a  stone  as  wait  here  for 
ships  that  never  come!  The  sea  is  as  empty  as  the 
treasury  at  Samos!" 

This  referred  to  one  of  the  most  daring  recent  ex- 
ploits of  Spartaco,  in  violating  a  temple  to  Venus  in 
the  island  of  Samos,  which  lay  some  thirty  miles  to  the 
north  of  where  they  were  seated.  The  beautiful 
building  had  been  ruined  by  fire,  after  the  pirates  had 
put  the  priests  and  priestesses  to  the  sword  and  had 
rifled  the  treasury  and  temple  of  all  the  wealth  given 
to  It  by  generations  of  devout  worshippers.  The 
speaker  had  suggested  this  exploit  to  his  chief,  who 
sat  beside  him,  and  he  rather  prided  himself  upon  his 
initiative. 

''Me  Hercule!"  sneered  the  third  man,  a  truculent, 
black-browed  rascal  named  Syrus.  "You  talk  as  if 
you  had  scaled  the  walls  of  Olympus  and  robbed  Jove 
of  his  thunderbolts!  There  is  a  greater  prize  than 
any  you  would  have  the  courage  for,  if  Spartaco  here 
will  let  us  do  it." 

"And  what  is  that?"  asked  Spartaco,  a  little  fierce- 
faced  man  with  gold  rings  In  his  ears,  gold  chains 
round  his  neck,  and  flashing  jewels  on  his  dirty  fingers. 

"The  Temple  of  Diana  at  Ephesus!"  replied  Syrus. 

"There  Is  booty  enough  there,  'tis  true,"  said  Spar- 
taco; "but  the  town  is  a  strong  one  and  Archelaus,  the 


THE  CAPTURE  OF  JULIUS  CiESAR     61 

governor  there,  is  a  hard  man,  who  would  not  be 
bought  over  to  our  side  except  for  a  very  large  sum. 
And  even  if  he  agreed  to  take  his  soldiers  away  while 
we  plundered,  the  Ephesians  would  fight  like  wild  cats 
for  their  Diana." 

"I  like  it  not,"  said  Micio.  "The  goddess  has  been 
good  to  me.  I  sacrificed  to  her  when  I  sacked  Agri- 
gentum,  and  she  saved  me  from  death  and  capture 
that  day,  for  the  Sicilians  fought  too  well," 

"Pshaw!"  returned  Spartaco.  "These  gods  and 
goddesses  cannot  help  themselves.  Until  my  old 
chief  Storax  of  Cyprus  took  it  into  his  head  to  sack 
Apollo's  temple  at  Claros,  because  the  god  refused 
him  the  ship  of  the  rich  merchant  Crassus  at  Chios, 
no  captain  of  the  sea  had  dared  to  think  of  trying  the 
strength  of  a  god.  Did  any  ill  befall  Storax  by 
reason  of  that  ?  Did  he  not  afterward  sack  the  temple 
of  Ceres  at  Hermione,  and  that  of  the  healing-god, 
i^sculapius,  at  Epidaurus?  What  he  could  do  others 
have  done.  Sannio  the  Negro  took  much  treasure 
from  the  temple  of  Neptune  in  the  Isthmus,  and 
because  the  god  sank  two  of  his  best  galleys  at  Tae- 
narus  he  sacked  his  temple  there  too,  and  at  Ca- 
lauria." 

"But,  mark  you,  captain,"  said  Micio,  "I  think  these 
things  pass  not  without  note,  though  the  old  gods  be 
fallen  now  on  careless  days  since  the  Bull-God 
Mithras  is  so  widely  worshipped.  What  happened  to 
Storax?  you  ask.  Was  he  not  slain  by  an  unseen  hand 
as  he  feasted  in  his  mountain-hold  at  Aspera,  in  the 
midst  of  his  faithful  men?  It  was  an  arrow  of  the 
god  that  slew  him,  of  a  surety,  for  all  such  deaths  are 


62  GRKAT  PIRATE  STORIES 

from  the  hand  of  Apollo.  And  Sannio — what  befell 
him  at  Messina?  As  he  rode  in  the  midst  of  his 
galleys  in  a  calm  sea,  waiting  for  his  men  to  bring  off 
the  senators  Sextus  and  Glabrio,  to  hold  for  ransom, 
a  great  wave  rolled  in  from  the  Narrow  Strait  and 
swamped  and  drowned  five  galleys  and  some  four  hun- 
dred men — Sannio  among  them." 

"Old  women's  tales,  all  such!"  returned  Spartaco; 
but  his  words  did  not  ring  with  sincerity.  As  a  mat- 
ter of  fact,  superstition  moved  him  as  much  as  it 
moved  the  wisest  and  basest  of  men  in  those  times, 
when  the  old  gods  were  dying  and  new  and  untried 
gods  were  taking  their  places.  Men's  minds  were 
still  affected  more  strongly  by  the  old  beliefs  than  by 
the  new,  and  Spartaco  could  not  keep  down  the  feel- 
ing that  there  might  be  some  truth  In  the  words  of 
his  lieutenant  Micio. 

Syrus  was  quick  to  see  the  doubt  in  the  mind  of  his 
captain  and  therefore  laughed. 

"We  must  look,  then,  for  some  act  of  vengeance 
upon  us  from  the  dainty  hand  of  the  goddess  Venus!" 
he  said.  "Doubtless  the  next  serving-maid  from 
whom  we  would  snatch  a  kiss  will  thump  us  heartily!" 

Spartaco  laughed  harshly,  but  Micio  looked  gloomy. 
He  had  himself  suggested  the  sacking  of  the  temple 
of  Venus  at  Samos,  but  It  had  been  to  make  favour 
for  himself  with  Spartaco,  and  he  had  no  thought  then 
of  the  possible  wrath  and  vengeance  of  the  goddess. 
Syrus  sneered  at  him. 

"Croaker!"  he  said.  "I  believe  youVe  frightened 
yourself  now.  As  for  me,  I  fear  none  of  the  old  gods 
while  the  young  Mithras  protects  me." 


THE  CAPTURE  OF  JULIUS  CAESAR     63 

He  made  the  sign  of  the  swastika  in  the  air,  invok- 
ing the  protection  of  Mithras. 

At  that  moment  there  came  a  faint,  broken  halloo 
from  the  look-out  on  the  topmost  rock  on  the  shore. 
A  quick  movement  ran  through  the  men  on  the 
benches  of  the  galley;  they  clutched  at  the  handles  of 
their  long  oars  and  looked  up  at  their  leaders  for  or- 
ders. Spartaco  and  his  lieutenants  gazed  shoreward, 
and  saw  a  man  gesticulating  toward  the  sea  to  the 
north,  as  if  pointing  to  an  advancing  vessel. 

"Jump  ashore,  Micio,"  said  the  captain  of  the  gal- 
ley, "and  run  to  the  northern  point  and  see  what  you 
make  of  the  stranger." 

Micio  did  as  he  was  ordered,  and  in  the  course  of 
a  few  minutes  returned  to  say  that  there  were  two 
merchant-galleys  whose  course  showed  that  they  were 
making  for  Miletus.  They  were  heavily  laden,  and 
were  therefore  a  likely  prize. 

"Give  the  call  for  the  other  galleys!"  said  Spartaco; 
and  soon  a  trumpet-call,  clear  and  high,  rang  out  along 
the  rocks  and  creeks  of  the  island. 

A  few  orders,  and  the  Milvus  had  been  pushed  out 
of  the  creek,  and,  followed  by  two  other  galleys  which 
had  been  hiding  in  neighbouring  inlets,  was  on  her 
way  toward  the  merchant-ships.  With  their  long  oars 
rising  and  falling  in  regular  beats,  the  pirate  galleys 
looked  like  great  sinister  sea-monsters  skimming  over 
the  bright  blue  waves.  The  oars  as  they  struck  the 
waters  churned  them  into  foam ;  the  sun  shone  brightly 
and  turned  the  tossing  water  into  jewels  which  flashed 
as  they  fell;  the  wind  sang,  carrying  on  it  the  salt 
smell  of  the  sea.     The  pirates,  however,  saw  little 


64  GRKAT  PIRATE  STORIES 

of  the  beauty  of  sea  and  sky,  sun  and  wind;  like  birds 
of  prey,  they  had  eyes  only  for  their  victims,  and, 
urged  by  the  sinewy  arms  of  the  rascals  on  the  oar- 
banks,  the  three  galleys  quickly  approached  the  mer- 
chantmen. 

At  the  first  sight  of  the  black  craft  racing  toward 
them  the  traders  had  increased  their  speed,  had 
stretched  another  sail,  and  incited  their  rowers  to 
greater  efforts.  But  the  vessels  were  too  heavily 
laden,  and  the  chief  merchant,  a  fat,  pursy  man, 
rung  his  hands  as  he  saw  how  swiftly  the  pirates  were 
lessening  the  interval  between  the  boats. 

On  the  poop  with  the  chief  merchant  was  a  spare 
young  man,  a  Roman  by  his  dress,  with  aristocratic 
features  and  bold,  confident  bearing.  He  was  dressed 
in  a  white  woollen  tunic,  with  sleeves  which  reached 
to  the  wrists,  where  they  were  cut  into  a  deep  fringe. 
The  garment  was  slackly  girdled.  The  fringed  tunic 
and  the  loose  girdle  were  thought  to  be  signs  of  ef- 
feminacy in  those  days.  On  his  feet  were  shoes  of 
scarlet  leather.  As  the  young  man  saw  the  pirate 
galleys  coming  nearer  and  nearer  he  laughed  at  the 
merchant's  woeful  cries. 

"It  is  no  use  your  lamenting,"  he  said  with  a  sneer. 
"If  you  had  waited  for  the  other  merchants  you  might 
have  been  able  to  beat  these  rascals  off.  As  it  is,  they 
outnumber  you  by  three  to  two." 

"But  I  wished  to  get  the  market  before  the  others," 
whined  the  greedy  old  merchant.  "What  a  loss  it  is! 
These  rogues  will  make  me  pay  heavily  for  my  ran- 
som.    Oh  that  I  had  waited!" 

The  foppish  young  man  turned  away  with  a  yawn. 


THE  CAPTURE  OF  JULIUS  CiESAR     65 

Two  servants  stood  near,  and  he  ordered  one  to  ask 
his  physician  to  come  to  him;  the  other  he  told  to 
bring  his  toga,  and  to  bid  the  rest  of  his  servants  to 
come  upon  the  poop.  Then  he  leaned  idly  against 
the  side  of  the  vessel  and  looked  at  the  rushing  onset 
of  the  first  galley. 

The  merchant,  seeing  escape  was  hopeless,  had  or- 
dered his  slaves  to  cease  rowing,  and  his  sailors  were 
reefing  the  sails.  Soon  the  merchant-galleys  lost  their 
way  and  sat  motionless  upon  the  water.  Spartaco 
raced  his  galley  to  within  a  hundred  yards;  then,  at  a 
word,  his  men  ceased  rowing  and  the  galley  glided  just 
within  speaking  distance. 

"What  ship  is  that?"  came  the  question. 

"The  Golden  Fleece,  of  Rhodes,"  was  the  reply, 
"owned  by  Vinius  the  Lydian." 

"If  Vinius  the  Lydian  is  there,  let  him  come 
aboard,"  came  back  the  order.  "If  he  is  not  there, 
let  the  shipmaster  come  to  me !" 

Vinius,  the  old  merchant,  thereupon  got  into  a  small 
boat  with  two  of  his  men,  and,  taking  his  money  and 
jewels  with  him,  was  rowed  to  the  pirate  galley. 
Meanwhile  the  young  aristocrat,  surrounded  by  his 
servants,  sat  with  Cinna,  his  friend  and  physician,  and, 
taking  out  a  scroll  from  the  breast-fold  of  his  toga, 
began  discussing  its  contents,  as  if  the  visit  of  some 
three  hundred  pirates,  who  thought  nothing  of  sink- 
ing galleys  and  the  people  aboard  them,  was  an  every- 
day occurrence. 

In  a  little  while  a  boat  put  off  from  each  of  the 
pirate  ships,  crammed  with  men.  They  boarded  the 
iiig    merchant-ship,    and    then,    after    quickly    going 


66  GREAT  PIRATE  STORIES 

through  the  cargo  to  note  its  value,  turned  their  at- 
tention to  the  passengers  on  the  poop. 

It  was  Spartaco's  (juick  eye  who  singled  out  the 
young  Roman  gentleman  in  the  centre  of  his  retinue. 
As  he  went  ah)ng  the  gangway  to  the  poop  he  growled 
to  Micio  hehind  him  : 

"Here's  some  sprig  from  Athens  or  Rome  who  will 
pay  for  keeping  for  a  while." 

Gaining  the  poop,  the  pirates  went  toward  the 
group.  The  servants  closed  ahout  their  master,  at 
which  movement  Spartaco  laughed. 

"Out  of  the  way,  spaniels!"  he  said.  "I  want  your 
lord's  money,  not  his  life." 

"What  is  it,  Phormio?"  came  the  drawling  voice 
of  the  young  Roman. 

The  slaves  made  way  for  the  pirates,  who  walked 
up  to  the  young  exquisite.  The  latter,  wrapped  in 
his  toga  with  its  deep  purple  band,  looked  up  with  a 
slight  air  of  annoyance  at  being  disturbed. 

"Who  are  you?"  asked  Spartaco  harshly,  disliking 
the  haughty  air  of  the  aristocrat. 

The  other  looked  at  his  questioner  with  a  patroniz- 
ing smile  for  an  instant.  Then,  with  a  gesture,  he 
turned  to  his  friend  with  the  words: 

"Tell  the  fellow,  Cinna." 

The  physician,  an  elderly  man,  looked  haughtily  at 
the  pirate  and  said: 

"This  gentleman  is  Caius  Julius  Caesar,  of  Rome." 

"What  win  he  pay  for  the  lives  of  himself  and  his 
people?"  came  the  harsh  question. 

Cinna  shrugged  his  shoulders  and  looked  at  his 
master,    who,   however,    had    returned   to    his   book. 


THE  CAPTURE  OF  JULIUS  CiESAR     67 

Spartaco  waited  for  a  reply,  but  as  neither  Caesar  nor 
Cinna  appeared  to  think  the  question  concerned  him, 
and  did  not  attempt  to  break  the  chilly  silence,  Spar- 
taco, with  an  angry  malediction,  turned  to  Micio  and 
said:  "What  are  they  worth,  think  you?  From  the 
pride  of  them  the  treasure  of  Midas  wouldn't  be 
enough." 

Micio  looked  at  the  crowd  of  slaves  and  freedmen 
as  if  estimating  their  market  value,  and  then  muttered 
advice  to  his  captain. 

'Til  double  it — twenty  talents  is  what  I  want,"  said 
Spartaco. 

Caesar  raised  his  head,  and  a  look  of  real  anger  was 
in  his  eyes. 

"Twenty  talents !"  he  said  icily.  "My  good  fel- 
low, I  am  afraid  neither  of  you  knows  your  business. 
Anyone  who  knows  me  will  tell  you  that  I  am  well 
worth  fifty  talents !" 

For  some  moments  Spartaco  was  speechless  with 
surprise.  As  a  rule  people  were  anxious  to  get  oft 
with  as  low  a  ransom  as  their  captors  would  accept, 
and  for  a  prisoner  to  put  up  the  price  placed  upon  him 
was  something  unheard  of.  Moreover,  Caesar's  val- 
uation (equal  to  about  £12,000  of  our  money)  was  a 
staggering  amount.  Spartaco  hastened  to  get  over 
his  surprise  and  to  accept  the  offer. 

"Have  it  as  you  will,"  he  said,  with  a  harsh  laugh. 
"Fifty  talents  you'll  pay  ere  you  see  Rome  again." 

"I  will  send  my  people  with  letters  to  Rome,"  replied 
Caesar.  "You  will  ship  them  there  at  once,  and  the 
money  shall  be  in  your  hands  by  the  kalends  of 
August." 


68  GREAT  PIRATE  STORIES 

Spartaco  scowled;  somehow  this  aristocrat  seemed 
to  be  giving  orders,  and  his  captor  had  to  obey  them. 
The  pirate  prowled  assent  antl  departed.  In  a  little 
while  the  nicrchant-gallcys  were  turned  and  rowed 
toward  the  island,  where  in  a  small  bay  they  were 
anchored,  and  the  rich  gear  and  goods  were  landed 
to  add  to  the  stores  of  the  pirates.  Cssar  and  the 
merchant  and  his  people  were  housed  in  huts,  which 
formed  the  village  of  the  pirates,  placed  in  a  wide 
green  field  just  below  the  high  rock,  which  formed  the 
look-out  of  Spartaco  and  his  band.  There  they  would 
await  the  time  when  their  ransoms  were  received.  In 
a  few  hours  Caesar  had  written  his  letters  to  friends 
and  kinsmen  at  Rome,  and  next  morning  the  smaller 
merchant-vessel  was  manned  by  pirates,  the  freedmen 
and  slaves  of  Czesar,  who  were  to  take  the  letters, 
went  on  board,  and,  the  wind  being  favourable,  a 
course  was  set  for  Italy.  The  same  day  the  pirates 
in  one  of  their  own  galleys  carried  some  of  the  mer- 
chant's slaves  to  Miletus,  which  was  but  a  few  miles 
away  on  the  mainland.  Caesar  also  sent  letters  by 
these  to  friends  of  his  in  Asia  Minor,  particularly  to 
Nicomedes,  the  wealthy  King  of  Bithynia. 

Caesar  remained  with  the  pirates,  accompanied  only 
by  Cinna,  his  friend  and  physician,  and  two  body- 
servants,  Milo,  his  barber,  and  Cotta,  his  cook.  A 
hut  was  reserved  for  himself  and  Cinna,  and  every 
morning  he  bathed  in  a  pool  on  the  seashore,  and  on 
his  return  Milo  shaved  him  and  trimmed  his  nails, 
and  then  crimped  and  curled  his  hair  with  tongs. 
Then  he  partook  of  his  spare  breakfast  of  pulse  and 
bread,  which  had  been  prepared  by  Cotta,  after  which 


THE  CAPTURE  OF  JULIUS  CESAR     69 

he  would  walk  with  Cinna,  discussing  some  point  of 
law,  or  the  subject  for  a  speech  or  poem.  At  the  time 
of  his  capture  Caesar  had  been  travelling  to  Rhodes  to 
study  oratory  under  Molo,  a  famous  orator  who  lived 
there.  Caesar  was  at  this  time  only  twenty-three  years 
of  age,  and  had  the  ambition  of  becoming  a  senator. 
He  had  no  inkling  yet  of  the  genius  which  he  possessed 
for  military  leadership. 

About  midday  he  would  take  another  spare  meal — 
for  Caesar,  even  as  a  young  man,  had  the  habit,  so 
rare  in  his  days,  of  eating  and  drinking  little;  after 
which,  in  the  hottest  time  of  the  day,  he  would  take 
his  siesta,  sleeping  in  his  hut.  At  two  o'clock  he 
would  take  exercise  by  running,  leaping,  and  throwing 
big  stones,  and  at  three  he  would  bathe  again,  after 
which  he  rested  and  Cinna  would  read  to  him.  His 
last  meal  would  be  taken  at  four  o'clock,  after  which 
he  would  sit  conversing  or  reading  with  Cinna,  or 
declaiming  a  speech  which  he  had  thought  out  and 
noted  down  during  the  day.  Soon  after  dark  he 
would  retire  to  his  couch. 

The  pirates,  observing  his  manner  of  life,  used  to 
laugh  and  jest  among  themselves  about  him,  calling 
him  "the  dandy,"  "the  man-woman,"  or  "the  lady." 
They  kept  strict  watch  upon  him,  but  this  was  because 
of  his  value,  not  that  they  feared  he  might  try  to  es- 
cape. As  the  days  went  on  they  began  to  have  a  feel- 
ing of  contempt  for  one  whose  amusements,  interests, 
and  manner  of  life  were  wholly  different  from  theirs. 
They  found  pleasure  in  rough  and  brutal  sports,  or 
games  of  chance,  at  which  they  quarrelled  and  fought, 
sometimes   to   the   death,  while   this   stranger  passed 


70  GREAT  PIRATE  STORIES 

his  day  in  bathing,  talking,  reading,  and  exercising 
his  hmbs.  So  fearful  was  he  of  his  precious  liealth, 
indeed,  that  he  kept  a  physician  continually  about  him. 
Sudi  a  creature  as  this  Caius  Julius  Cssar,  this  aris- 
tocrat, was  only  half  a  man! 

When,  therefore,  one  night,  into  their  midst,  as 
they  sat  roaring  out  songs  over  their  cups,  the  physi- 
cian entered,  and,  going  boldly  up  to  Spartaco,  said 
that  Cassar  had  sent  him  to  tell  them  to  keep  silent,  as 
he  was  about  to  sleep,  looks  of  stupefied  wonder  gave 
way  quickly  to  great  guffaws  of  laughter  at  the  in- 
solence of  the  'man-woman.' 

"And  why  should  we  keep  quiet?"  growled  Spar- 
taco, "That  little  white  man  of  yours  would  do  well 
with  a  little  hardship,  and  a  night's  sleeplessness  will 
do  him  good.  Tell  him  I  shall  make  all  the  noise  I 
wish." 

"You  are  foolish,  my  friend,"  replied  Cinna. 
"You  wish  to  get  the  ransom  for  my  friend  and  mas- 
ter, I  suppose?"  The  pirate  assented.  "My  friend 
is  a  man  of  delicate  health;  sleep  and  a  quiet  life  are 
necessary  to  him.  If  he  were  to  die  here  you  would 
get  no  ransom,  for  the  money  is  to  be  lodged  with  the 
Roman  governor  at  Miletus,  and  will  only  be  given 
to  you  when  Caesar  goes  there  in  person." 

Spartaco  scowled;  the  logic  of  this  stranger  was 
unanswerable.  "Tell  your  man-woman  that  I  will 
keep  my  boys  quiet,"  he  said. 

Afterward,  whenever  the  pirates  forgot  their  prom- 
ise and  were  noisy  at  night,  Caesar  sent  and  ordered 
them  to  keep  silent,  and  they  instantly  subsided, 
though   with   muttered   curses.     After   the   first   few 


THE  CAPTURE  OF  JULIUS  CAESAR     71 

days  Caesar  spoke  to  several  of  them,  getting  them  to 
talk  of  their  exploits  and  leading  them  to  reveal  their 
true  natures,  in  which  craftiness,  greed,  and  savagery 
mingled.  Spartaco  and  Micio  he  particularly  chose 
to  talk  to,  and  while  he  showed  his  contempt  for  their 
trade  and  their  manners,  and  never  let  them  forget 
the  social  gulf  which  lay  between  them,  he  entered  into 
many  of  their  games  and  diversions,  got  them  to  run 
and  jump  and  throw  balls  with  him,  and  to  walk  with 
him  about  the  island. 

The  pirates  could  not  understand  him.  He  was 
frank  in  his  manner,  he  laughed  and  jested  with  them, 
and  when  he  chose  to  be  so  was  excellent  company. 
But  they  felt  vaguely  that  he  was  not  so  soft  a  person 
as  they  had  deemed  him  to  be.  He  gave  them  orders 
as  if  he  were  their  prince  and  they  were  merely  his 
body-guard.  They  resented  this  manner,  but  he  was 
so  fearless  and  his  bearing  was  so  lordly  that  they  had 
to  obey,  willy-nilly.  They  felt  that  under  his  suavity 
and  condescension  of  manner  there  was  a  determina- 
tion that  nothing  could  break. 

Once  Spartaco  and  Micio  and  others  with  them  were 
speaking  of  the  cities  they  had  taken,  of  the  slaves 
they  held  in  their  strongholds  in  Cilicia,  and  of  the 
many  tributes  they  received  from  maritime  cities  and 
rich  merchants  as  blackmail,  so  that  they  should  not 
attack  those  cities  or  capture  the  vessels  of  the 
merchants. 

"If  there  was  any  wit  in  your  muddy  minds,"  said 
Caesar,  "one  or  other  of  you  would  use  your  powers 
to  still  greater  ends." 

"As  how?"  asked  Spartaco. 


72  GRFAT  PIRATE  STORIES 

"You  would  make  yourself  master  of  all  the  pirate 
bands  within  the  waters  of  the  Middle  Sea,  you  would 
confederate  many  maritime  States  under  your  power, 
and — who  knows? — if  you  had  brains  enough  to  bend 
the  quarrels  of  Rome  and  Italy  to  your  own  ends,  you 
could  take  the  place  of  Rome  herself,  who  hates  the 
sea,  and  be  master  over  all  the  lands  and  oceans  of  the 
world." 

He  was  half  laughing  as  he  spoke,  in  spite  of  the 
strange  glow  in  his  eyes,  and  they  knew  not  whether 
he  was  speaking  in  jest  or  in  earnest. 

"But  I  fear  you  are  men  of  too  barbarous  a  taste  to 
aim  so  high,"  he  went  on.  "Tell  me,  is  it  true,  as 
men  say,  that  you  reverence  not  even  the  temples  of 
the  gods?" 

"We  care  a  straw  for  nothing,"  said  Spartaco  sav- 
agely, incensed  at  the  open  contempt  which  this  lord 
expressed  for  his  captors,  who  usually  experienced 
deference  and  fear  in  their  prisoners.  "And  I*  think 
I  would  as  soon  slit  your  throat  as  have  your  money, 
my  fine  gentleman." 

Cssar  laughed  easily  and  ignored  the  other's  anger. 
"If  you  did  that,  doubt  not  that  you  would  rue  it  in  a 
little  while.  What  would  my  poor  corpse  benefit 
you?  Think  how  you  would  curse  yourself  for  a 
fool  when  you  were  told  that  fifty  talents — three  hun- 
dred thousand  denarii — were  waiting  for  you  at 
Miletus,  and  all  that  you  could  offer  for  them  was  my 
poor  clay!      I  thought  you  were  men  of  business!" 

"Aye,  aye!"  said  some  of  the  others,  laughing  at  his 
mockery  of  their  chief.  "Spartaco  will  spare  you  for 
your  money's  sake,  but  your  tongue  is  too  free." 


THE  CAPTURE  OF  JULIUS  CiESAR     73 

"Free,  my  friends!"  said  Caesar,  his  eyes  flashing 
and  scorn  curUng  his  lips.  "I  am  used  to  speaking  my 
mind  freely  even  in  the  Forum  at  Rome,  before  men 
whose  shoe-latchets  you  are  not  fit  to  touch.  Think 
you  I  should  bridle  my  tongue  for  any  one  of  your 
dirty  knives?" 

Most  of  the  men  laughed  awkwardly;  to  take  a 
man's  life  was  nothing  to  these  rough  sea-robbers, 
but  against  their  wills  they  were  cowed  by  the  utter 
fearlessness  and  pride  of  this  Roman  lord.  Some 
found  a  zest  in  his  insolence,  and  at  any  rate  none  of 
them  would  permit  his  life  to  be  taken,  unless,  of 
course,  his  rich  ransom  never  came  to  their  hands. 

Caesar  rose  from  the  log  on  which  he  sat  and,  fold- 
ing his  toga  about  him,  prepared  to  go  to  his  own  hut. 

"What  insolence!"  he  said  jestingly.  "Barbarians 
as  you  are,  not  to  appreciate  a  gentleman's  jests!  Do 
you  not  know  that  a  lord's  slaves  laugh  or  cry  with 
him  to  save  their  backs  from  the  whip?  Not  only  do 
you  threaten  me  with  death,  but  you  resent  my  jokes. 
For  such  insolence  not  one  of  you  deserves  less  than 
the  death  of  a  common  rogue,  and,  mark  me,  when  I 
am  free  I  will  see  to  it  that  you  all  get  your  deserts  on 
the  cross!" 

This  sally  excited  the  men  to  much  laughter.  The 
daring  of  the  thought  tickled  their  sense  of  the  hu- 
morous. To  think  that  this  man,  so  much  in  their 
power,  should  threaten  to  crucify  them  like  any  other 
poor  robber  whom  Roman  justice  thrust  upon  a  cross 
along  a  roadside !  After  all,  the  lord  could  make  a 
good  jest. 

Caesar's  fearlessness  among  these  cut-throats  was  a 


74  GREAT  PIRATE  STORIES 

matter  of  wonder  even  to  CInna,  his  physician,  who 
tried  to  dissuade  him  from  trusting  himself  among 
them. 

"My  friend,"  C.Tsar  replied,  "have  no  fear  for  me. 
These  men  value  me  too  much  to  injure  me.  They 
are  sorry  rogues,  indeed,  but  at  least  they  enjoy  the 
edge  of  my  tongue." 

One  day  Cssar  went  to  a  party  of  the  pirates  as 
they  sat  after  their  evening  meal  and  told  them  he 
would  recite  an  oration  which  he  had  composed.  It 
was  a  revised  version  of  the  final  portion  of  the  speech 
which  he  had  given  in  the  Forum  when  he  had  im- 
peached Antonius  Hybrida  for  corrupt  government 
In  Macedonia.  With  all  solemnity,  while  the  men 
gaped  at  him  In  wonder,  he  told  them  that  this  speech 
had  always  dissatisfied  him,  and,  more  than  any  of 
his  other  orations,  had  convinced  him  that  a  few  ses- 
sions with  the  great  orator  Molo  at  Rhodes — whither 
he  had  been  proceeding  when  their  rascalities  had 
seized  his  person — were  necessary  to  perfect  him  In 
the  art  of  rhetoric. 

Then  for  some  time  he  exerted  all  his  gifts  of  elo- 
quence upon  the  group  of  wretches  before  him. 
With  every  addition  of  fine  phrasing,  noble  gesture, 
and  telling  Intonation,  he  strove  to  make  them  realize 
the  force  of  the  arguments  by  which  he  sought  to 
prove  how  utterly  evil  and  injurious  to  the  State  had 
been  the  actions  of  the  governor  in  taking  bribes  from 
suitors  and  from  merchants  and  In  robbing  travellers 
of  their  goods.  But  all  his  efforts  were  in  vain:  the 
pirates  were  not  Impressed  In  the  least,  and  even 
laughed    at    him,    and   half-way   through    his   oration 


THE  CAPTURE  OF  JULIUS  CiESAR     75 

many  turned  aside  and  began  to  play  dice,  or  a  game 
with  small  bones,  called  mora. 

When  he  ended  Caesar  looked  sourly  at  them  as 
they  lolled  in  their  places.  Some  joked  about  the 
gestures  he  had  made;  Spartaco  said  it  seemed  a  lot 
to  say  about  a  man  who  had  taken  a  few  goods  and 
trifling  sums  of  gold;  while  another  ruflHan,  supposed 
to  be  a  very  comic  fellow,  began  to  create  roars  of 
laughter  in  one  corner  by  imitating  Caesar's  motions 
and  looks  while  he  talked. 

"Dolts  and  barbarians!"  cried  Caesar.  "It  is  like 
throwing  pearls  to  swine  or  giving  gold  to  asses  to  lay 
before  you  the  riches  of  oratory  such  as  I  possess !" 

"You  learned  men  seem  to  do  little  else  but  talk," 
growled  Syrus.  "As  for  us  seamen,  we  may  be 
rough  men,  but  we  do  much  more  than  we  talk  about. 
Give  me  a  man  who  does  things,  not  one  who  mouths 
about  what  other  men  have  done!" 

"Dunce !"  said  Caesar,  with  a  scornful  smile.  "I 
suppose  you  will  never  learn  that  words  can  sway  men 
much  more  than  your  brutal  deeds  with  knife  and 
javelin.  Oh,  I  shall  take  the  greatest  pleasure  in 
hanging  you  all  when  I  am  free  again!" 

Saying  which,  he  walked  away  with  great  dignity, 
flinging  his  toga  about  him  with  a  lordly  gesture. 

The  pirates  laughed  as  he  left  them. 

"What  a  fool  the  man  is!"  said  Spartaco  scoffingly. 
"He  is  all  words.  Never  hath  he  told  us  of  anything 
he  himself  hath  done." 

"I  told  him  as  much,"  said  Syrus.  "I  doubt  not  he 
would  turn  sick  to  see  a  man  killed.  To  talk  of  cruci- 
fying us!" 


76  GREAT  PIRA'IK  STORIES 

On  other  occasions  Ci'sar  delivered  orations  to  the 
pirates,  and  even  recited  some  of  his  poems  to  them. 
He  saw,  indeed,  tliat  they  liad  no  appreciation  for 
anything  so  strange  to  their  way  of  Ufe  as  oratory  and 
poetry;  hut  liis  masterful  and  imperious  character, 
which  knew  no  fear  of  their  hrutal  natures,  caused 
him  to  impress  himself  upon  them  in  tliis  way.  And 
so  great  a  mixture  of  pleasantry  and  mastery  was  in 
his  hearing  to  these  men  that  some  began  to  feel  the 
ciiarm  which  in  later  years  he  exercised  so  powerfully 
over  his  rough  soldiers  in  Spain  and  Gaul.  Micio 
in  particular  felt  a  kind  of  devotion  for  this  fearless 
and  wonderful  stranger,  and  often  went  aside  to  speak 
to  Caesar,  who  treated  him  with  the  haughty  famili- 
arity which  a  great  man  might  show  for  a  freedman 
or  favourite  slave. 

Once  Micio  put  to  him  the  question  which  had  been 
exercising  his  mind  ever  since  the  day  on  which  the 
pirate  leaders  had  talked  about  the  sacking  of  temples. 

"Do  you  think,  Caesar,"  he  said,  "that  the  old  gods 
still  have  power  to  avenge  themselves  upon  those  who 
insult  or  injure  them?  As  for  me,"  Micio  went  on 
truculently,  "I  fear  them  not.  Mithras  the  Bull-God 
is  strong  enough  for  me," 

"Why  do  you  ask,  then,  my  friend?"  asked  Caesar, 
with  a  little  smile. 

"Oh,"  was  the  answer,  "some  have  said  that  men 
who  have  sacked  temples  have  been  slain  by  the  gods 
whose  fanes  they  had  destroyed. 

"Have  you  sacked  a  temple?" 

"I  have,"  replied  Micio,  assuming  a  look  of  ferocity 
designed  to  impress  his  listener  with  a  sense  of  his 


1 


THE  CAPTURE  OF  JULIUS  CESAR     77 

utter  fearlessness  of  things  both  human   and  divine. 

Caesar  glanced  at  the  man  as  he  sat  in  his  soiled  and 
ragged  tunic,  with  bare  legs  and  feet  thrust  into  rough 
leather  boots.  Micio  had  a  heavy  gold  chain  about 
his  red,  hairy  neck  and  bosom,  and  thick  rings  in  his 
ears.  A  kerchief  was  tied  round  his  unkempt  locks, 
and  his  face,  tanned  a  deep  red  by  wind  and  sun,  wore 
the  look  of  mingled  craft  and  brutality  which  was 
common  to  all  the  pirates. 

"Whose  temple  have  you  polluted,  barbarian?" 
asked  the  patrician. 

"We  sacked  the  temple  of  Venus  at  Samos,"  was 
the  reply,  "slit  the  throats  of  the  priests  and  pries- 
tesses, and  emptied  the  treasury.  Then  we  sent  up 
the  temple  in  fire  and  smoke — all  that  would  burn !" 

"You  destroyed  the  temple  of  Venus  at  Samos!" 
repeated  Caesar,  and  his  tone  had  something  of  the 
mercilessness  of  a  judge  giving  sentence,  so  that  Micio 
was  stirred  in  spite  of  his  air  of  bravado.  "Of  a 
surety  the  goddess  will  avenge  herself — rest  assured 
that  you  shall  not  escape!" 

Caesar  rose  from  his  seat  and  withdrew  without  an- 
other word.  For  a  little  while  Micio  sat  silent,  his 
superstitious  mind  chilled  by  the  pronouncement  of 
doom  as  from  the  lips  of  an  oracle.  He  recovered 
himself  in  a  little  while  and  laughed  awkwardly. 

A  few  days  later,  ifi  the  early  morning,  a  galley 
was  sighted  coming  from  Miletus.  The  first  man 
who  jumped  into  the  surf  when  the  ship  was  pulled 
up  the  shore  was  Cassar's  chief  freedman,  Gallo, 
who,  running  up  to  his  master,  bowed  to  him  and 
said: 


78  GREAT  PIRATE  STORIES 

^^Domine,  the  tale  of  fifty  talents  is  complete.  It 
Is  in  the  liaruls  of  the  lord  Valerius  I'orquatus,  the 
legate  at  Miletus.  Shall  1  prepare  my  lord  for  his 
immediate  departure  from  here?" 

"Tell  the  pirate,  Spartaco,  that  my  ransom  waits 
for  him,"  replied  Cicsar  in  an  undisturbed  manner, 
"and  then  come  to  me." 

Within  an  hour  the  three  galleys  were  under  way  to 
Miletus,  crammed  with  men.  The  first  contained 
Ca'sar  and  his  friend  Cinna,  together  with  the  freed- 
man  Gallo  and  the  two  slaves,  Cotta  and  Milo.  All 
except  Caesar  himself  showed  great  joy  in  at  length 
finding  themselves  on  their  way  to  liberty  again. 
They  had  been  thirty-eight  days  with  the  pirates,  so 
hard  a  task  had  it  been  for  Gallo  and  the  other  slaves 
of  Caesar  to  collect  the  sum  of  fifty  talents.  The 
property  both  of  Caesar  and  his  wife  Cornelia  had 
been  confiscated  by  Sulla,  who  was  then  tyrant  at 
Rome;  but  Caesar  had  many  rich  kinsmen  and  friends. 

Throughout  the  preparation  for  departure  Caesar 
had  sat  silent  on  the  poop  of  the  galley,  gazing  upon 
the  line  of  shore,  from  which  they  were  now  receding, 
as  if  trying  to  fix  the  appearance  of  the  creeks  and 
the  cliffs  upon  his  memory. 

Spartaco  and  his  two  lieutenants  came  upon  the 
poop.  They  were  in  high  glee  at  the  prospect  of  re- 
ceiving so  large  a  sum  for  their  captive,  but  though 
Spartaco  did  not  anticipate  any  trick,  it  had  ever  been 
his  habit  in  these  cases  to  make  every  assurance.  He 
had  known  of  pirates  who  had  been  lured  to  a  place 
at  which  a  ransom  was  to  be  paid,  only  to  be  fallen 
upon  and  overwhelmed  by  forces  in  hiding.     For  this 


THE  CAPTURE  OF  JULIUS  CiESAR     79 

reason  he  had  brought  with  him  all  his  men,  well 
armed;  and  the  money  was  to  be  handed  to  him  on 
the  governor's  galley,  at  a  point  on  the  open  sea  out- 
side the  harbour  of  Miletus. 

"You  cannot  say  I  have  not  treated  you  well, 
Caesar,  said  Spartaco,  with  a  rough  laugh.  "Fifty 
talents  in  a  lump  do  not  often  come  the  way  of  a 
poor  corsair,  but  I  think  I  and  my  fellows  have  treated 
you  like  a  king." 

"I  will  see  that  your  kind  treatment  of  me  does  not 
benefit  you  if  ever  you  come  before  the  judge  at  Perga- 
mum,"  was  the  smiling  reply.  "No  word  from  me 
shall  keep  you  from  the  cross." 

"You  will  have  your  jest,"  said  Spartaco,  with  a 
laugh.  "Look  you,  if  you  ever  happen  to  fall  into 
my  hands  again  I  promise  you  I'll  raise  your  ransom — 
'twill  be  seventy-five  talents  next  time,  for  the  sharp 
tongue  you  give  us !" 

Syrus  and  Micio  laughed  heartily:  this  was  paying 
the  Roman  lord  back  in  his  own  coin. 

"There's  the  legate's  galley!"  said  Spartaco,  and 
cast  keen  eyes  about  the  sea  and  away  to  the  white 
bar  of  the  harbour,  against  which  the  sea  tossed  up 
its  jewelled  waters,  flashing  in  the  sunlight.  But 
there  were  only  a  few  fishing-vessels  here  and  there, 
and  no  armed  galley  threw  back  the  sun's  rays  from 
its  gleaming  beak  of  bronze. 

The  formality  was  soon  over:  Spartaco,  with  a 
body-guard,  went  aboard  the  galley  of  the  legate,  or 
governor,  and  the  gold  coins  were  counted  out  and 
taken  in  bags  to  the  little  boat  bobbing  at  the  side. 
The  governor,  a  stout  old  Roman  with  a  rubicund 


80  GREAT  PIRATE  STORIES 

face,  stood  waiting  impatiently  while  the  money  was 
being  counted,  and  when  this  was  finished  Spartaco 
yelled  through  his  hands  to  Micio  on  the  first  pirate 
galley  to  put  Ca-sar  and  his  people  in  a  boat  and  row 
them  across.  This  was  done  with  alacrity,  and  in  a 
little  while  Ciesar  stepped  on  board  the  governor's 
vessel. 

Exiled  from  Rome  in  this  outlandish  province  as  he 
had  been  for  some  years,  Valerius,  the  governor,  knew 
little  of  affairs  in  the  great  city.  He  had  never  heard 
of  Caesar,  but  had  supposed  he  was  one  of  the  old 
rich  senators  who  had  more  wealth  than  wide  renown. 
His  surprise  was  great,  therefore,  when  a  young  man 
of  about  twenty-three  came  toward  him,  dressed  in  a 
foppish  fashion.  Valerius  welcomed  him  heartily, 
however,  for  his  respect  was  according  to  the  enor- 
mous amount  of  ransom  which  had  been  paid.  As 
Cassar  stepped  aboard  Spartaco  leaped  into  his  own 
boat,  and  without  further  delay  the  beak  of  the  gov- 
ernor's galley  was  turned  shoreward,  and  the  vessel 
was  soon  racing  toward  the  meal  for  which  the  old 
governor  had  been  impatiently  waiting. 

Valerius  invited  his  guest  to  dine  with  him  when 
they  should  reach  his  villa  at  Miletus  in  an  hour. 

"I  thank  you,"  replied  Caesar,  "but  I  shall  not  dine 
to-day.  I  will  ask  you  to  lend  me  four  galleys  and 
all  the  good  fighting  men  you  can  command." 

Valerius  hesitated.  "What  do  you  want  them 
for?" 

"I  will  pay  you  three  talents  for  the  loan  of  them," 
replied  Caesar,  "and  you  shall  have  both  galleys,  and 
men  back  without  much  loss." 


THE  CAPTURE  OF  JULIUS  CESAR     8i 

"If  you  think  to  take  those  pirates — ^'  began 
Valerius. 

"I  do  not  think  about  it,"  replied  Caesar  in  a  polite 
but  firm  tone.  "I  am  going  to  take  those  rascals, 
every  one  of  them,  and  string  them  up  like  crows  along 
the  coast  to  scare  other  dirty  rascals  away." 

Valerius  had  long  passed  his  fighting  days:  he  was 
all  for  well-cooked  meals  and  Greek  wines  now;  but  he 
knew  a  masterful  man  when  he  saw  one,  and  without 
another  word  he  submitted.  Who  was  he  to  resist 
the  will  of  this  young  patrician,  with,  so  far  as  Vale- 
rius knew,  powerful  friends  at  Rome,  and  who,  at  any 
rate,  was  one  for  whom  fifty  talents  had  been  paid? 
He  agreed,  therefore,  to  place  under  Caesar  the  com- 
mand of  four  galleys  and  five  hundred  soldiers,  two 
hundred  of  whom  were  tried  fighting  men  of  his  own 
guard,  the  others  being  native  auxiliaries. 

"And  suppose  you  succeed  in  taking  those  desperate 
rascals,"  said  Valerius,  " — but  I  don't  promise  that 
you  will  find  it  an  easy  task — what  do  you  propose  to 
do  with  them?" 

"I  will  bring  them  here  and  ask  you  to  put  every  one 
to  death,"  was  the  reply. 

"And  do  you  think  that  will  do  me  any  good?" 
asked  Valerius  angrily.  "I  shall  have  all  my  mer- 
chants railing  at  me.  As  it  is,  they  pay  their  tribute 
to  this  Spartaco  and  their  galleys  go  free.  If  you 
crucify  him  as  big  a  rogue  will  come  and  take  his  place, 
and  my  merchants  will  have  to  pay  more  blackmail." 

"I  am  sorry  to  threaten  these  pleasing  commercial 
arrangements,"  said  Caesar,  with  a  cynical  smile. 
"Then  I  will  save  you  the  trouble  of  punishing  these 


82  GREAT  PIRATE  STORIES 

friends  of  your  merchants,  and  1  will  take  them  to 
Pcrf^amum." 

"Do  that,  and  I  shall  be  well  pleased,"  replied 
Valerius,  his  good-humour  returning.  "Let  Junius 
the  prajtor  have  the  bother.  Besides,  he  alone  has 
rightly  the  power  of  life  and  death." 

After  a  few  more  words  Caesar  parted  from  the 
governor,  the  latter  being  glad  to  see  the  hack  of  this 
young  man  who  wished  to  disturb  the  comfortable  rela- 
tions existing  between  the  merchants  of  Miletus  and 
the  pirates  who  patrolled  that  part  of  the  coast. 

Meanwhile  the  pirates,  having  returned  to  the 
island,  were  deep  in  a  great  carouse  to  celebrate  the 
rich  haul  which  they  had  so  easily  made.  Much 
heady  wine  was  drunk,  boastful  speeches  were  made, 
and  song  and  jest  sped  the  pleasant  time.  Even  the 
look-out  men  on  the  highest  point  of  the  rocks  had 
joined  in  the  festivity  and  no  watch  was  kept  upon 
the  sea.  When,  therefore,  with  the  suddenness  of  a 
tempest  out  of  the  summer  sky  men  rushed  upon  them 
from  behind  the  rocks  the  half-drunken  pirates  were 
able  to  make  but  little  resistance  against  what  were 
found  to  be  overwhelming  numbers.  Those  who  at- 
tempted to  fight  were  cut  down;  the  others  were  sur- 
rounded and  ordered  to  throw  down  their  arms. 

"Who  commands  you?"  yelled  Spartaco,  rocking  as 
he  stood,  impotent  rage  in  his  voice. 

From  behind  a  group  of  soldiers  came  the  tall, 
slender  figure  of  Cassar,  smiling,  but  with  a  cold  glitter 
in  his  eyes. 

Spartaco  started;  then  he  cursed  vehemently  for  a 
while,    and    after    that    was    silent.     Micio    looked 


THE  CAPTURE  OF  JULIUS  CESAR     83 

gloomily  at  Caesar,  and  then  with  drunken  gravity 
he  turned  to  Spartaco  and  shook  his  head  sagely. 

"He  said  he'd  crucify  us,  and — and  so  he  will!"  he 
ejaculated. 

Surrounded  by  the  soldiers,  who  stood  with  drawn 
swords  ready  to  cut  down  any  pirate  who  ventured  to 
break  away  or  to  resist,  the  rascals  were  pinioned  and 
then  were  thrust  into  the  bottom  of  the  galleys.  Only 
a  few  had  escaped  by  flight  into  the  inner  part  of  the 
island  when  the  surprise  had  come,  and  the  number 
taken  amounted  to  about  three  hundred  and  fifty. 
Caesar  also  recovered  the  whole  of  the  fifty  talents 
which  had  formed  his  ransom. 

When  all  were  aboard  Caesar  ordered  the  pirate 
galleys  to  be  stove  in  and  sunk  in  deep  water;  after 
which,  setting  sail  before  a  favourable  wind,  he 
speedily  made  his  way  to  Pergamum,  where  dwelled 
the  praetor,  or  governor-general,  of  the  province  of 
Asia  Minor. 

Arrived  there,  he  found  that  the  praetor  was  away 
on  circuit  with  his  principal  oflUcers,  judging  causes  in 
various  towns.  Caesar  saw  his  captives  safely  lodged 
in  the  prison  in  the  city,  though  its  capacity  was 
strained  to  accommodate  them  all,  and  then,  placing 
over  them  a  guard  from  among  the  soldiers  of  Vale- 
rius for  additional  security,  he  set  out  to  find  Junius, 
who  was  somewhere  in  the  east  of  the  province. 

After  a  little  search  he  succeeded  in  finding  the 
praetor,  and  having  presented  himself  before  him,  he 
related  all  that  had  occurred.  Junius,  an  austere, 
crafty-looking  person,  said  little  while  the  tale  was 
being  told,  but  on  learning  that  Caesar  had  recovered 


84  GREAT  PIRATE  STORIES 

the  fifty  talents  besides  other  booty  which  had  been 
seized  and  stored  by  the  pirates,  his  eyes  gleamed 
greedily.      When  his  narrative  was  ended  Ca.*sar  said: 

"Now,  Junius,  I  have  prcjmiscd  these  rogues  that 
they  shall  be  crucified.  Will  you  give  me  your  letters 
directing  your  legate  at  Pergamum  to  execute  them?" 

Junius  looked  sourly  at  Ca-sar,  and  his  shifty  eyes 
glanced  up  and  down  this  masterful  young  man  who 
wished  to  direct  the  pra*tor  of  a  province  as  to  what 
he  should  do.  lie  knew  that  the  young  patrician  was 
a  scion  of  the  Julian  clan,  and  that  he  had  powerful 
and  rich  friends,  though  at  present  he  was  hiding  from 
possible  death  at  the  hands  of  the  dictator,  Sulla.  All 
this,  however,  weighed  but  little  with  Junius;  the  most 
important  thing  to  his  greedy  praetorial  soul  was  how 
to  obtain  for  himself  most  of  the  fifty  talents  and 
the  spoil  captured  with  the  pirates.  Like  most  other 
praetors,  he  had  come  to  his  province  resolved  to  take 
from  it  all  the  riches  he  could  lay  his  hands  upon,  and 
his  fingers  itched  to  touch  the  pirates'  treasure. 

"The  matter  must  take  its  proper  course,"  replied 
Junius.  "Such  a  case  must  be  decided  with  all  due 
formalities.  It  must  await  my  return  to  Pergamum. 
Meanwhile  I  will  send  a  messenger  with  orders  to  my 
legate,  Minicius,  to  guard  the  pirates  and  their  booty 
with  all  care." 

CsEsar  had  quickly  perceived  what  had  been  passing 
in  the  mind  of  Junius,  whose  face,  for  all  his  crafti- 
ness, easily  betrayed  his  thoughts  to  an  observant  eye. 
He  pretended  to  fall  in  with  the  przetor's  opinion  and 
passed  the  matter  oflf  carelessly.  He  stayed  chatting 
a  little  while  on  indifferent  topics,  so  as  to  make  it 


THE  CAPTURE  OF  JULIUS  CAESAR     85 

appear  that  the  business  had  no  real  Interest  for  him. 
When,  however,  he  had  taken  his  leave  he  instantly 
ordered  his  freedman  to  bring  the  horses,  and  without 
waiting  for  food  he  left  the  place  and  took  the  road 
back  to  Pergamum. 

His  decision  was  already  taken.  The  man  who  in 
later  years  in  Gaul  was  to  slaughter  thousands  of  bar- 
barians without  mercy  took  little  account  of  the  exe- 
cution of  two  or  three  hundred  robbers.  He  reached 
Pergamum  in  the  middle  of  the  next  day,  and  after  a 
hurried  meal  he  gave  instructions  to  the  soldiers  on 
guard  as  to  what  was  to  be  done.  That  same  after- 
noon most  of  the  robbers  were  slain  in  prison:  one 
by  one  they  were  ordered  to  come  out  into  a  small  en- 
closure, and  as  each  man  turned  a  certain  sharp  corner 
soldiers  stabbed  him. 

Some  thirty  of  the  chief  pirates  were  reserved  for 
a  more  formal  death.  These  included  Spartaco, 
Micio,  and  Syrus,  together  with  others  whom  Caesar 
had  noticed  to  be  men  of  more  forceful  character. 
He  had  these  brought  out  and  told  them  what  he 
purposed  doing. 

"You  are  malefactors,"  he  said  sternly;  "your  lives 
are  forfeit  to  the  State  for  many  crimes  of  murder, 
robbery,  and  violence,  and  you  shall  now  meet  with 
your  due  reward.  You  deserve,  indeed,  to  be  cruci- 
fied and  to  hang  upon  the  wood  until  you  shall  mis- 
erably die  from  hunger  and  your  wounds.  But  as  I 
have  known  you  and  dwelled  with  you  I  will  grant 
you  this  grace :  you  shall  be  crucified,  but  you  will  not 
be  hung  upon  the  cross  alive." 

The  men  glared  at  him  sullenly.     Death  was   so 


86  GREAT  PIRATE  STORIES 

near  to  every  violent  man  in  those  hard  days  that  It 
had  h'ttlc  terror  for  him.  Some  cursed  him  and 
looked  about  them  as  if  they  would  dearly  like  to  make- 
one  last  fi^lit  for  life,  but  the  ranks  of  stern  soldiery 
with  wet  swords  in  their  hands  gave  them  no  hope. 

"I  little  reckoned  you  were  so  strong  a  man  of 
your  word,"  said  Micio  at  length.  "You  seemed  too 
much  the  dandy,  you  were  too  clean  and  choice  in  your 
manners.  Ah,  would  that  I  had  known!  I  would 
have  strangled  you  as  you  sat  smiling  at  us.  But,  now, 
see  here,  Cassar,"  he  went  on,  with  a  mocking  laugh, 
"I  prove  your  words  to  be  lying  words.  You  said 
that  of  a  surety  Venus  would  punish  me  with  death 
for  having  violated  her  temple.  How  now  can  she 
punish  me?" 

"You  have  not  escaped  the  vengeance  of  the  god- 
dess," said  Cjesar  sternly.  "I  am  of  the  Julian  clan — 
of  the  race  that  has  sprung  from  the  goddess. 
Through  me,  then,  she  works  her  vengeance  upon 
you!" 

When  the  sun,  dipping  his  golden  face  in  the  hya- 
cinthine  sea,  shone  that  evening  with  level  beams  along 
the  waves  and  the  shore  his  rays  threw  thirty  long 
shadows  across  the  fields  beyond  the  strand.  The 
dead  bodies  of  Spartaco  and  twenty-nine  of  his  com- 
rades hung  upon  the  gaunt,  high  crosses,  their  sight- 
less eyes  looking  at  the  sinking  sun. 

Next  morning  Caesar  took  galley,  and,  resuming 
his  Interrupted  journey,  he  went  on  his  way  to  Rhodes, 
where,  placing  himself  under  the  Instruction  of  Apol- 
lonius  Molo,  the  great  orator,  he  perfected  himself 
day  by  day  in  the  arts  of  public  speaking. 


LIMAHON  THE  ROVER 
[From     "Purchas     His     Pilgrimes,"     by     Samuel 

PURCHAS] 


THE  Spaniards  did  enjoy  their  neere  habitation 
of  Manilla  in  great  quietnesse  &  in  obedience 
unto  the  Christian  King  Don  Philip,  and  in 
continuall  Traffick  with  the  Chinois.  But  being  in 
this  securitie  and  quietnesse,  unlooked  for,  they  were 
beset  with  a  mightie  and  great  Armada  or  Fleet  of 
ships,  by  the  Rover  Limahon,  of  whose  vocation  they 
are  continually  on  the  Coast,  the  one  by  reason  that 
the  Countrey  is  full  of  people,  whereas  of  necessitie 
must  be  many  idle  persons:  and  the  other  and  princi- 
pall  occasion,  by  reason  of  the  great  tyrannie  that  the 
Governours  doe  use  unto  the  Subjects.  This  Limahon 
came  upon  them  with  intent  to  doe  them  harme  as  you 
shall  understand.  This  Rover  was  borne  in  the  Citie 
of  Trucheo,  in  the  Province  of  Cuytan,  which  the 
Portugals  doe  call  Catim.  He  was  of  meane  Par- 
entage, and  brought  up  in  his  youth  in  libertie  and 
vice,  he  was  by  nature  Warlike  and  evill  inclined.  He 
would  learne  no  Occupation,  but  was  given  to  rob  in 
the  high-wayes,  and  became  so  expert  that  many  came 
unto  him  and  followed  that  Trade.  Hee  made  him- 
selfe  Captaine  over  them  which  were  more  than  two 
thousand,  and  were  so  strong  that  they  were  feared 
in  all  that  Province  where  as  they  were.  This  being 
knowne  unto  the  King  and  to  his  Councell,  they  did 
straight  way  command  the  Vice-roy  of  the  Province 
whereas  the  Rover  was,  that  with  all  the  haste  pos- 

87 


88  r.'RFAT  PIRATE  STORIES 

siblc  lie  should  j^atficr  toj^cthcr  all  the  (jarrisons  of 
his  Frontiers,  to  apprehend  and  take  him,  and  if  it 
were  possible  to  carry  him  alive  unto  the  Citie  of 
Taybin,  if  not  his  head.  The  Vice-roy  incontinent  did 
gather  together  people  necessary,  and  in  great  haste 
to  follow  him. 

The  wliich  being  knowne  unto  Limahon  the  Rover, 
who  saw,  that  with  the  people  hee  had,  he  was  not 
able  to  make  resistance  against  so  great  a  number  as 
they  were,  and  the  eminent  danger  that  was  therein, 
hee  called  together  his  Companies,  and  went  from 
thence  unto  a  Port  of  the  Sea,  that  was  a  few  leagues 
from  that  place:  and  did  it  so  quickly  and  in  such  se- 
cret, that  before  the  people  that  dwelt  therein,  could 
make  any  defence  (for  that  they  were  not  accustomed 
to  any  such  assaults,  but  lived  in  great  quietnesse)  they 
were  Lords  of  the  Port,  and  of  all  such  ships  as  were 
there:  into  the  which  they  imbarked  themselves 
straight-wayes,  weighed  Anchor  and  departed  to  the 
Sea,  whereas  they  thought  to  be  in  more  securitie  then 
on  the  Land  (as  it  was  true).  Then  he  seeing  him- 
selfe  Lord  of  all  those  Seas,  beganne  to  rob  and  spoyle 
all  ships  that  hee  could  take,  as  well  strangers  as  of 
the  naturall  people:  by  which  means  in  a  small  time 
he  was  provided  of  Mariners,  and  other  things  which 
before  hee  lacked,  requisite  for  that  new  Occupation. 
He  sacked,  robbed  and  spoyled  all  the  Townes  that 
were  upon  the  Coast,  and  did  very  much  harme.  So 
hee  finumg  himselfe  very  strong  with  fortie  ships  well 
armed,  of  those  he  had  out  of  the  Port,  and  other 
that  hee  had  taken  at  the  Sea,  with  much  people  such 
as  were  without  shame,  their  hands  imbrued  with  Rob- 


LIMAHON  THE  ROVER  89 

beries  and  killing  of  men,  he  imagined  with  himselfe 
to  attempt  greater  matters,  and  did  put  it  in  execution : 
he  assaulted  great  Townes,  and  did  a  thousand 
cruelties.  So  he  following  this  trade  and  exercise, 
he  chanced  to  meete  with  another  Rover  as  himselfe, 
called  Vintoquian,  likewise  naturally  borne  in  China, 
who  was  in  a  Port  void  of  any  care  or  mistrust, 
whereas  Limahon  finding  opportunitie,  with  greater 
courage  did  fight  with  the  ships  of  the  other:  that 
although  they  were  threescore  ships  great  and  small, 
and  good  Souldiers  therein,  he  did  overcome  them, 
and  tooke  five  and  fiftie  of  their  ships,  so  that  Vinto- 
quian escaped  with  five  ships.  Then  Limahon  seeing 
himselfe  with  a  fleet  of  ninetie  five  ships  well  armed, 
and  with  many  stout  people  in  them,  knowing  that  if 
they  were  taken,  they  should  be  all  executed  to  death; 
setting  all  feare  apart,  gave  themselves  to  attempt 
new  inventions  of  evill,  not  onely  in  robbing  of  great 
Cities,  but  also  in  destroying  of  them. 

For  the  which,  commandement  was  given  straight- 
wayes  unto  the  Vice-roy  of  that  Province  (whereas  he 
used  to  execute  his  evill)  that  with  great  expedition 
he  might  be  taken,  who  in  few  dayes  did  set  forth  to 
Sea,  one  hundred  and  thirtie  great  ships  well  ap- 
pointed, with  fortie  thousand  men  in  them,  and  one 
made  Generall  over  them  all,  a  Gentleman  called 
Omoncon,  for  to  goe  seeke  and  follow  this  Rover  with 
expresse  commandement  to  apprehend  or  kill  him. 
Of  all  this  provision,  Limahon  had  advertisement  by 
some  secret  friends,  who  seeing  that  his  Enemies  were 
many,  and  he  not  able  to  countervaile  them,  neither  in 
shippes  nor  rii£n,  determined  not  to  abide  their  com- 


90  GREAT  PIRATE  STORIES 

min^,  but  to  rctyrc  ami  depart  from  that  Coast:  so  in 
flying  he  came  unto  an  Hand  in  secret,  called  Tonzna- 
caotican,  which  was  fortic  leagues  from  the  firme 
Land,  and  is  in  the  right  way  of  Navigation  to  the 
Hands  Philippinas. 

From  this  Hand  they  did  goe  forth  with  some  of 
their  ships  robbing  and  spoyling  all  such  as  they  met 
with  Merchandize,  and  other  things  that  they  carried 
from  one  Hand  to  another,  and  from  the  Hand  unto 
the  firme,'  and  comming  from  thence  amongst  them 
all,  they  caused  to  take  two  ships  of  China  which  came 
from  Manilla,  and  were  bound  to  their  owne  Countrey. 
And  having  them  in  their  power,  they  searched  them 
under  hatches,  and  found  that  they  had  rich  things 
of  Gold,  and  Spanish  Rials,  which  they  had  in  trucke 
of  their  Merchandize,  the  which  they  carried  to  the 
Hands.  They  informed  themselves  in  all  points  of 
the  State,  and  fertilitie  of  that  Countrey,  but  in  par- 
ticular of  the  Spaniards,  and  how  many  there  were  of 
them  in  the  Citie  of  Manilla,  who  were  not  at  that 
present  above  seventie  persons,  for  that  the  rest  were 
separated  in  the  discovering  and  populing  of  other 
Hands  newly  found,  and  understanding  that  these  few 
did  live  without  any  suspition  of  Enemies,  and  had 
never  a  Fort  nor  Bulwarke,  and  the  Ordnance  which 
they  had  (although  it  was  very  good)  yet  was  it  not 
in  order  to  defend  them  nor  offend  their  Enemies, 
hee  determined  to  goe  thither  with  all  his  fleete  and 
people,  for  to  destroy  and  kill  them,  and  to  make  him- 
selfe  Lord  of  the  said  Hand  of  Manilla,  and  other 
adjacent  there  nigh  the  same.     So  with  this  determina- 

1  Mainland. 


LIMAHON  THE  ROVER  91 

tion  hee  departed  from  those  Hands  whereas  hee  was 
retyred,  and  went  to  Sea,  and  sayling  towards  the 
Hands  Philippinas,  they  passed  in  sight  of  the  Hands 
of  the  Hlocos,  which  had  a  Towne  called  Fernandina, 
which  was  new  founded  by  the  Captayne  John  de  Sal- 
zedo,  who  at  that  instant  was  in  the  same  for  Lieu- 
tenant to  the  Governour:  Foure  leagues  from  the 
same  they  met  with  a  small  Galley,  which  the  said 
John  de  Salzedo  had  sent  for  victuals.  He  cast 
about  towards  her,  and  with  great  ease  did  take  her, 
and  did  burne  and  kill  all  that  was  in  her,  and  par- 
doned one  of  them.  This  being  done,  hee  did  prose- 
cute his  Voyage  according  unto  his  determination,  and 
passed  alongst,  but  not  in  such  secret  but  that  he  was 
discovered  by  the  Dwellers  of  the  Towne  of  Fernan- 
dina, who  gave  notice  thereof  unto  the  Lieutenant  of 
the  Governour  aforesaid,  as  a  wonder  to  see  so  many 
ships  together,  and  a  thing  never  seene  before  at  those 
Hands.  Likewise  it  caused  admiration  unto  him,  and 
made  him  to  thinke  and  to  imagine  with  great  care 
what  it  might  be,  he  saw  that  they  did  beare  with  the 
Citie  of  Manilla,  and  thought  with  himself,  that  so 
great  a  fleet  as  that  was,  could  not  goe  to  the  place 
which  they  bare  in  with,  for  any  goodnesse  towards 
the  dwellers  therein,  who  were  voide  of  all  care,  and 
a  small  number  of  people,  as  aforesaid:  Wherewith 
he  determined  with  himselfe  with  so  great  speed  as 
it  was  possible,  to  joyne  together  such  Spaniards  as 
were  there,  which  were  to  the  number  of  fiftie  foure, 
and  to  depart  and  procure  to  get  the  fore-hand 
of  them,  to  advertise  them  of  Manilla,  and  to  aide 
and    helpe    them    to    put    their    Artillerle    in    order. 


92  GREAT  PIRATE  STORIES 

ami    all    other    things    ncccssaric    lor    their    defence. 

This  Limahon  was  well  provided  of  provision,  and 
all  other  things  necessarie,  and  having  the  wind  faire, 
hce  was  alwaies  in  the  fore-front,  and  came  in  the 
sight  of  Manilla  upon  Saint  Andrewes  Eve,  in  the 
yecrc  1574,  whereas  hec  came  to  an  anchor  that  night 
with  all  his  whole  estate. 

Eor  all  the  contradiction  of  the  windc  this  same 
night  the  fourc  hundred  Chinois  did  put  themselves 
witliln  a  league  of  the  Citie,  upon  Saint  Andrewes  day 
at  eight  of  the  clocke  in  the  morning,  whereas  they  left 
their  Boats  and  went  on  land,  and  in  great  haste  began 
to  march  forwards  in  battel  aray  divided  in  two  parts, 
with  two  hundred  Harquebusses  afore,  and  imme- 
diately after  them  other  two  hundred  Pike-men:  and 
by  reason  that  they  were  many,  and  the  Countrey  very 
plaine,  they  were  straightwaies  discovered  by  some  of 
the  Citie,  who  entred  in  with  a  great  noise,  crying, 
Arme,  arme,  arme,  the  Enemies  come.  The  which 
advice  did  little  profit,  for  that  there  was  none  that 
would  beleeve  them:  but  beleeved  that  it  was  some 
false  alarme  done  by  the  people  of  the  Countrey  for 
to  mocke  them.  But  in  conclusion,  the  Enemies  were 
come  unto  the  house  of  the  Generall  of  the  Field,  who 
was  called  Martin  de  Goyti,  which  was  the  first  house 
in  all  the  Citie  that  way  which  the  Enemies  came. 
And  before  that  the  Spaniards  and  Souldiers  that 
were  within  the  Towne  could  be  fully  perswaded  the 
rumour  to  be  true,  the  Enemies  had  set  fire  upon  his 
house,  and  slue  him  and  all  that  were  within. 

At  this  time,  by  the  order  of  his  Majestie  was 
elected   for   Governour   of   these    Hands   Philippinas, 


LIMAHON  THE  ROVER  93 

Guido  de  Labacates,  after  the  death  of  Miguel  Lopez 
de  Legaspi,  who  understanding  the  great  fleet  and 
power  of  Limahon  the  Rover,  and  the  small  resist- 
ance and  defence  that  was  in  the  Citie  of  Manilla, 
with  as  much  speed  as  was  possible  he  did  call  together 
all  their  Captaines  and  dwellers  therein:  and  with  a 
generall  consent  they  spared  no  person  of  what  quali- 
tie  and  degree  soever  he  was,  but  that  his  hand  was 
to  helpe  all  that  was  possible,  the  which  endured  two 
dayes  and  two  nights,  for  so  long  the  Rover  kept  his 
ships  and  came  not  abroad.  In  which  time  of  their 
continuall  labour,  they  made  a  Fort  with  Pipes  and 
Boards  filled  with  sand  and  other  necessaries  thereto 
belonging,  such  as  the  time  would  permite  them:  they 
put  in  carriages,  foure  excellent  Peeces  of  Artillerie 
that  were  in  the  Citie.  All  the  which  being  put  in 
order,  they  gathered  all  the  people  of  the  Citie  into 
that  little  Fort.  The  night  before  the  Enemie  did 
give  assault  unto  the  Citie,  came  thither  Captaine 
John  de  Salzedo,  Lieutenant  unto  the  Governour. 
The  Rover  in  the  morning  following,  before  the 
breake  of  the  day  (which  was  the  second  after  he 
gave  the  first  assault)  was  v/ith  all  his  fleet  right 
against  the  Port,  and  did  put  a-land  sixe  hundred  Soul- 
diers,  who  at  that  instant  did  set  upon  the  Citie,  the 
which  at  their  pleasure  they  did  sacke  and  burne. 
They  did  assault  the  Fort  with  great  cruelty,  as  men 
fleshed  with  the  last  slaughter,  thinking  that  their  re- 
sistance was  but  small.  But  it  fell  not  out  as  they  did 
beleeve,  for  having  continued  in  the  fight  almost  all 
the  day,  with  the  losse  of  two  hundred  men,  that  were 
slaine  in  the  assault,  and  many  other  hurt,  he  straight- 


94  GREAT  PIRATE  STORIES 

waics  departed  from  thence,  and  returned  the  same 
way  dial  he  came,  till  they  arrived  in  a  mightie  River, 
fortie  leagues  from  the  Citie  of  Manilla,  tliat  is  called 
Pangasinan,  the  which  place  or  soyle  did  like  him  very 
well,  and  where  })e  thought  he  might  be  sure  from 
them,  who  by  the  commandement  of  the  King  went 
for  to  seeke  him.  1  here  hee  determined  to  rcmayne, 
and  to  make  himselfe  Lord  over  all  that  Countrey,  the 
which  he  did  with  little  travcll,  and  built  himselfe  a 
Fort  one  league  within  the  River,  where  as  he  re- 
mayned  certaine  dayes,  receiving  tribute  of  the  Inhabi- 
tants thereabouts,  as  though  he  were  their  true  and 
naturall  Lord:  and  at  times  went  forth  with  his  ships 
robbing  and  spoyling  all  that  he  met  upon  the  coast. 
And  spred  abroad,  that  he  had  taken  to  him.selfe  the 
Hands  Philippinas,  and  how  that  all  the  Spaniards 
that  were  in  them,  were  either  slayne  or  fled  away. 
With  this  consideration  they  entred  into  counsell,  and 
did  determine  to  joyne  together  all  the  people  they 
could,  and  being  in  good  order,  to  follow  and  seeke 
the  Rover,  Then  the  Governours  commanded  to  be 
called  together  all  the  people  bordering  thereabouts, 
and  to  come  unto  the  Citie  whereas  hee  was.  Like- 
wise at  that  time  hee  did  give  advice  unto  such  as  were 
Lords  and  Governours  of  the  Hands,  called  Pintados, 
commanding  them  to  come  thither,  with  such  ships  as 
they  could  spare,  as  well  Spaniards  as  the  naturall 
people  of  the  Countrey.  The  Generall  of  the  field 
with  the  people  aforesaid,  did  depart  from  Manilla 
the  three  and  twentieth  day  of  March,  Anno  1575, 
and  arrived  at  the  mouth  of  the  River  Pagansinan 
upon  tenable  Wednesday  in  the  morning  next  follow- 
ing, without  being  discovered  of  any.     Then  straight- 


LIMAHON  THE  ROVER  95 

waies  at  that  instant  the  Generall  did  put  a-land  all 
his  people  and  foure  Peeces  of  Artillerie,  leaving  the 
mouth  of  the  River  shut  up  with  his  shipping,  in 
chayning  the  one  to  the  other,  in  such  sort,  that  none 
could  enter  in  neither  yet  goe  forth  to  give  any  advice 
unto  the  Rover  of  his  arrivall:  he  commanded  some 
to  goe  and  discover  the  fleet  of  the  Enemie,  and  the 
place  whereas  he  was  fortified,  and  charged  them  very 
much  to  doe  it  in  such  secret  sort,  that  they  were  not 
espied:  for  therein  consisted  all  their  whole  worke. 
Hee  commanded  the  Captaine  Gabriel  de  Ribera,  that 
straightwaies  he  should  depart  by  Land,  and  that 
upon  a  sudden  he  should  strike  alarme  upon  the  Ene- 
mie, with  the  greatest  tumult  that  was  possible.  Like- 
wise he  commanded  the  Captaines  Pedro  de  Caves  and 
Lorenso  Chacon,  that  either  of  them  with  forty  Soul- 
diers  should  goe  up  the  River  in  small  ships  and  light, 
and  to  measure  the  time  in  such  sort,  that  as  well 
those  that  went  by  land,  as  those  that  went  by  water, 
should  at  one  instant  come  upon  the  Fort,  and  to  give 
alarme  both  together,  the  better  to  goe  thorow  with 
their  pretence:  and  he  himselfe  did  remayne  with  all 
the  rest  of  the  people,  to  watch  occasion  and  time  for 
to  aide  and  succour  them  if  need  be  required.  This 
their  purpose  came  so  well  to  passe,  that  both  the  one 
and  the  other  came  to  good  effect:  for  those  that  went 
by  water,  did  set  fire  on  all  the  fleet  of  the  Enemie : 
and  those  that  went  by  land  at  that  instant  had  taken 
and  set  fire  on  a  Trench  made  of  timber,  that  Limahon 
had  caused  to  bee  made  for  the  defence  of  his  people 
and  the  Fort:  and  with  that  furie  they  slue  more  than 
one  hundred  Chinos,  and  tooke  prisoners  seventy 
women   which   they   found   in   the   same  Trench,  but 


96  GREAT  PIRATE  STORIES 

when  that  Limahon  understood  the  rumour,  hee  tooke 
himselfe  straightwaies  to  his  Fort  which  hee  had  made 
for  to  defend  himselfe  from  the  Kings  Navie,  if  they 
should  happen  to  finde  him  out. 

The  next  day  following,  the  Gencrall  of  the  field 
did  bring  his  Souldiers  into  a  square  battell,  and  be- 
gannc  to  march  towards  the  Fort,  with  courage  to 
assault  it  if  occasion  did  serve  thereunto:  hee  did  pitch 
his  Campe  within  two  hundred  paces  of  the  Fort,  and 
found  that  tfie  Enemie  did  all  that  night  fortifie  him- 
selfe very  well,  and  in  such  sort,  that  it  was  perillous 
to  assault  him,  for  that  he  had  placed  upon  his  Fort 
three  Peeces  of  Artillerie,  and  many  Bases,  besides 
other  Engines  of  fire-worke.  Seeing  this,  and  that 
his  Peeces  of  Artillerie  that  hee  brought  were  very 
small  for  to  batter,  and  little  store  of  munition,  for 
that  they  had  spent  all  at  the  assault  which  the  Rover 
did  give  them  at  Manilla,  the  Generall  of  the  field, 
and  the  Captaines  concluded  amongst  themselves,  that 
seeing  the  Enemie  had  no  ships  to  escape  by  water, 
neither  had  he  any  store  of  victuals  for  that  all  was 
burnt  in  the  ships,  it  was  the  best  and  most  surest  way 
to  besiege  the  Fort,  and  to  remayne  there  in  quiet 
until!  that  hunger  did  constraine  them  either  to  yeeld 
or  come  to  some  conclusion:  which  rather  they  will 
then  to  perish  with  hunger. 

This  determination  was  liked  well  of  them  all,  al- 
though it  fell  out  clean  contrarie  unto  their  expecta- 
tion; for  that  in  the  space  of  three  moneths  that  siege 
endured,  this  Limahon  did  so  much  that  within  the 
Fort  he  made  certaine  small  Barkes,  and  trimmed 
them  in  the  best  manner  he  could,  wherewith  in  one 
night  he  and  all  his  people  escaped. 


GALLEYS  AND  GALLEY-SLAVES 

[From  "The  Story  of  the  Barbary  Corsairs,"  by 
Stanley  Lane-Poole] 


T 


*'^  I  ^  HE  Corsairs,"  says  Haedo,  "are  those  who 
support  themselves  by  continual  sea- 
robberies;  and,  admitting  that  among  their 
numbers  some  of  them  are  natural  Turks,  Moors,  &c., 
yet  the  main  body  of  them  are  renegadoes  from  every 
part  of  Christendom;  all  who  are  extremely  well  ac- 
quainted with  the  Christian  coasts."  It  is  a  singular 
fact  that  the  majority  of  these  plunderers  of  Chris- 
tians were  themselves  born  in  the  Faith.  In  the  long 
list  of  Algerine  viceroys,  we  meet  with  many  a  Euro- 
pean. Barbarossa  himself  was  born  in  Lesbos,  prob- 
ably of  a  Greek  mother.  His  successor  was  a 
Sardinian;  soon  afterwards  a  Corsican  became  pasha 
of  Algiers,  then  another  Sardinian;  Ochiali  was  a 
Calabrian;  Ramadan  came  from  Sardinia,  and  was 
succeeded  by  a  Venetian,  who  in  turn  gave  place  to  a 
Hungarian,  who  made  room  for  an  Albanian.  In 
1588  the  thirty-five  galleys  or  galleots  of  Algiers  were 
commanded  by  eleven  Turks  and  twenty-four  rene- 
gades, including  nations  of  France,  Venice,  Genoa, 
Sicily,  Naples,  Spain,  Greece,  Calabria,  Corsica,  Al- 
bania,  and   Hungary,    and   a   Jew.     In   short,   up   to 

97 


98  GREAT  PIRATE  STORIES 

nearly  the  close  of  the  sixteenth  century  (but  nmuch 
more  rarely  afterwards)  the  chiefs  of  the  Corsairs 
and  the  governors  were  commonly  drawn  from  Chris- 
tian lands.  Some  of  them  volunteered — and  to  the 
outlaws  of  Europe  the  command  of  a  Barbary  galley 
was  perhaps  the  only  congenial  resort; — but  most  of 
them  were  captives  seized  as  children,  and  torn  from 
tiieir  homes  in  some  of  the  Corsairs'  annual  raids  upon 
Corsica  and  Sardinia  and  the  Italian  or  Dalmatian 
coasts.  Most  of  such  prisoners  were  condemned  to 
menial  and  other  labour,  unless  ransomed;  but  the 
bolder  and  handsomer  boys  were  often  picked  out  by 
the  penetrating  eye  of  the  re'is,  and  once  chosen  the 
young  captive's  career  was  established. 

"While  the  Christians  with  their  galleys  are  at  re- 
pose, sounding  their  trumpets  in  the  harbours,  and 
very  much  at  their  ease  regaling  themselves,  passing 
the  day  and  night  in  banqueting,  cards,  and  dice,  the 
Corsairs  at  pleasure  are  traversing  the  east  and  west 
seas,  without  the  least  fear  or  apprehension,  as  free 
and  absolute  sovereigns  thereof.  Nay,  they  roam 
them  up  and  down  no  otherwise  than  do  such  as  go 
in  chase  of  hares  for  their  diversion.  They  here  snap 
up  a  ship  laden  with  gold  and  silver  from  India,  and 
there  another  richly  fraught  from  Flanders;  now  they 
make  prize  of  a  vessel  from  England,  then  of  another 
from  Portugal.  Here  they  board  and  lead  away  one 
from  Venice,  then  one  from  Sicily,  and  a  little  further 
on  they  swoop  down  upon  others  from  Naples, 
Livorno,  or  Genoa,  all  of  them  abundantly  crammed 
with  great  and  wonderful  riches.  And  at  other  times 
carrying  with  them  as  guides,  renegadoes   (of  which 


GALLEYS  AND  GALLEY-SLAVES         99 

there  are  in  Algiers  vast  numbers  of  all  Christian  na- 
tions, nay,  the  generality  of  the  Corsairs  are  no  other 
than  renegadoes,  and  all  of  them  exceedingly  well 
acquainted  with  the  coasts  of  Christendom,  and  even 
within  the  land),  they  very  deliberately,  even  at  noon- 
day, or  indeed  just  when  they  please,  leap  ashore,  and 
walk  on  without  the  least  dread,  and  advance  into 
the  country,  ten,  twelve,  or  fifteen  leagues  or  more; 
and  the  poor  Christians,  thinking  themselves  secure, 
are  surprised  unawares;  many  towns,  villages,  and 
farms  sacked;  and  infinite  numbers  of  souls,  men, 
women,  children,  and  infants  at  the  breast,  dragged 
away  into  a  wretched  captivity.  With  these  miser- 
able ruined  people,  loaded  with  their  own  valuable 
substance,  they  retreat  leisurely,  with  eyes  full  of 
laughter  and  content,  to  their  vessels.  In  this  man- 
ner, as  is  too  well  known,  they  have  utterly  ruined  and 
destroyed  Sardinia,  Corsica,  Sicily,  Calabria,  the 
neighbourhoods  of  Naples,  Rome,  and  Genoa,  all  the 
Balearic  islands,  and  the  whole  coast  of  Spain:  in 
which  last  more  particularly  they  feast  it  as  they  think 
fit,  on  account  of  the  Morlscos  who  Inhabit  there; 
who  being  all  more  zealous  Mohammedans  than  are 
the  very  Moors  born  in  Barbary,  they  receive  and  ca- 
ress the  Corsairs,  and  give  them  notice  of  whatever 
they  desire  to  be  Informed  of.  Insomuch  that  before 
these  Corsairs  have  been  absent  from  their  abodes 
much  longer  than  perhaps  twenty  or  thirty  days,  they 
return  home  rich,  with  their  vessels  crowded  with  cap- 
tives, and  ready  to  sink  with  wealth;  in  one  Instant, 
and  with  scarce  any  trouble,  reaping  the  fruits  of  all 
that  the  avaricious  Mexican  and  greedy  Peruvian  have 


100  GREAT  PIRATE  STORIES 

been  digging  from  tlie  bowels  of  the  earth  with  such 
toil  and  sweat,  and  the  thirsty  merchant  with  such 
manifest  perils  has  for  so  long  been  scraping  together, 
and  has  been  so  many  thousand  leagues  to  fetch  away, 
either  from  the  east  or  west,  with  inexpressible  dan- 
ger and  fatigue.  Thus  they  have  crammed  most  of 
the  houses,  the  magazines,  and  all  the  shops  of  this 
Den  of  Thieves  with  gold,  silver,  pearls,  amber,  spices, 
drugs,  silks,  cloths,  velvets,  &c.,  whereby  they  have 
rendered  this  city  the  most  opulent  in  the  world:  inso- 
much that  the  Turks  call  it,  not  without  reason,  their 
India,  their  Mexico,  their  Peru."  ^ 

One  has  some  trouble  in  realizing  the  sort  of  navi- 
gation employed  by  Corsairs.  We  must  disabuse  our 
minds  of  all  ideas  of  tall  masts  straining  under  a 
weight  of  canvas,  sail  above  sail.  The  Corsairs'  ves- 
sels were  long  narrow  row-boats,  carrying  indeed  a 
sail  or  two,  but  depending  for  safety  and  movement 
mainly  upon  the  oars.  The  boats  were  called  galleys, 
galleots,  brigantines  {"galleotas  ligeras  o  vergatines," 
or  frigatas),  &c.,  according  to  their  size:  a  galleot  is 
a  small  galley,  while  a  brigantine  may  be  called  a  quar- 
ter galley.  The  number  of  men  to  each  oar  varies, 
too,  according  to  the  vessel's  size :  a  galley  may  have 
as  many  as  four  to  six  men  working  side  by  side  to 
each  oar,  a  galleot  but  two  or  three,  and  a  brigantine 
one;  but  in  so  small  a  craft  as  the  last  each  man  must 
be  a  fighter  as  well  as  an  oarsmen,  whereas  the  larger 
vessels  of  the  Corsairs  were  rowed  entirely  by  Chris- 
tian slaves. 

The  galley  is  the  type  of  all  these  vessels,  and  those 

1  Haedo,  quoted  by  Morgan,  593-4. 


GALLEYS  AND  GALLEY-SLAVES       101 

who  are  curious  about  the  minutest  details  of  building 
and  equipping  galleys  need  only  consult  Master  Joseph 
Furttenbach's  Architectura  N avails:  Das  ist,  Von 
dem  Schiff-Gebraw,  auf  dem  Meer  und  Seekusten  zu 
gebrauchen,"  printed  in  the  town  of  Ulm,  in  the 
Holy  Roman  Empire,  by  Jonam  Saurn,  in  1629.  Any 
one  could  construct  a  galley  from  the  numerous  plans 
and  elevations  and  sections  and  finished  views  in  this 
interesting  and  precise  work.^  Furttenbach  is  an  en- 
thusiastic admirer  of  a  ship's  beauties,  and  he  had  seen 
all  varieties;  for  his  trade  took  him  to  Venice,  where 
he  had  a  galleasse,-  and  he  had  doubtless  viewed  many 
a  Corsair  fleet,  since  he  could  remember  the  battle  of 
Lepanto  and  the  death  of  Ochiali.  His  zeal  runs 
clean  away  with  him  when  he  describes  a  stolo,  or 
great  flagship  {capitanea  galea)  of  Malta  in  her 
pomp  and  dignity  and  lordliness,  as  she  rides  the  seas 

1  Hardly  less  valuable  is  Adm.  Jurien  de  la  Graviere's  Les 
Derniers  Fours  de  la  Marine  a  Rames  (Paris,  1885).  It  contains  an 
admirable  account  of  the  French  galley  system,  the  mode  of  recruiting, 
discipline,  and  general  management;  a  description  of  the  different 
classes  of  vessels,  and  their  manner  of  navigation;  while  a  learned 
Appendix  of  over  one  hundred  pages  describes  the  details  of  galley- 
building,  finishing,  fitting,  and  rigging,  and  everything  that  the  student 
need  wish  to  learn.  The  chapters  (ix.  and  x. )  on  Navigation  a  la 
rame  and  Navigation  a  la  voile,  are  particularly  worth  reading  by 
those  who  would  understand  sixteenth  and  seventeenth  century  sea- 
manship. 

2  A  galleasse  was  originally  a  large  heavy  galley,  three-masted,  and 
fitted  with  a  rudder,  since  its  bulk  compelled  it  to  trust  to  sails  as  well 
as  oars.  It  was  a  sort  of  transition-ship,  between  the  galley  and  the 
galleon,  and  as  time  went  on  it  became  more  and  more  of  a  sailing 
ship.  It  had  high  bulwarks,  with  loopholes  for  muskets,  and  there 
was  at  least  a  partial  cover  for  the  crew.  The  Portuguese  galleys  in 
the  Spanish  Armada  mounted  each  no  soldiers  and  222  galley-slaves; 
but  the  Neapolitan  galleasses  carried  700  men,  of  whom  130  were 
sailors,  270  soldiers,  and  300  slaves  of  the  oar.  Jurien  de  la 
Graviere,  Les  Derniers  Jours  de  la  Marme  a  Rames,  65-7. 


102  GREAT  PIRATE  STORIES 

to  the  rhythmical  beat  of  her  many  oars,  or  "casics" 
with  every  blade  susj)enclcd  motionless  above  the  waves 
like  the  win^s  of  a  poised  falcon.  A  galley  such  as 
this  is  "a  princely,  nay,  a  royal  and  imperial  vassello 
(It  rcmoy  and  much  the  most  suitable,  he  adds,  for 
the  uses  of  peace  and  war  in  the  Mcditerannean  Sea. 
A  galley  may  be  i8o  or  190  spans  long — Eurttenbach 
measures  a  ship  by  palmi,  which  varied  from  nine  to 
ten  inches  in  different  places  in  Italy, — say  150  feet, 
the  length  of  an  old  seventy-four  frigate,  but  with 
hardly  a  fifth  of  its  cubit  contents — and  its  greatest 
beam  is  25  spans  broad.  The  Genoese  and  Venetians 
set  the  models  of  these  vessels,  and  the  Italian  terms 
were  generally  used  in  all  European  navigation  till 
the  northern  nations  took  the  lead  in  sailing  ships. 
These  sails  are  often  clewed  up,  however,  for  the 
mariner  of  the  sixteenth  century  was  ill-practised  in 
the  art  of  tacking,  and  very  fearful  of  losing  sight  of 
land  for  long,  so  that  unless  he  had  a  wind  fair  astern 
he  preferred  to  trust  to  his  oars.  A  short  deck  at  the 
prow  and  poop  serve,  the  one  to  carry  the  fightingmen 
and  trumpeters  and  yardsmen,  and  to  provide  cover 
for  the  four  guns,  the  other  to  accommodate  the 
knights  and  gentlemen,  and  especially  the  admiral  or 
captain,  who  sits  at  the  stern  under  a  red  damask  can- 
opy embroidered  with  gold,  surveying  the  crew,  sur- 
rounded by  the  chivalry  of  "the  Religion,"  whose 
white  cross  waves  on  the  taffety  standard  over  their 
head,  and  shines  upon  various  pennants  and  burgees 
aloft.  Behind,  overlooking  the  roof  of  the  poop, 
stands  the  pilot  who  steers  the  ship  by  the  tiller  in  his 
hand. 


GALLEYS  AND  GALLEY-SLAVES       103 

Between  the  two  decks,  in  the  ship's  waist,  is  the 
propeUing  power:  fifty-four  benches  or  banks,  twenty- 
seven  a  side,  support  each  four  or  five  slaves,  whose 
whole  business  in  life  is  to  tug  at  the  fifty-four  oars. 
This  flagship  is  a  Christian  vessel,  so  the  rowers  are 
either  Turkish  and  Moorish  captives,  or  Christian 
convicts.  If  it  were  a  Corsair,  the  rowers  would  all 
be  Christian  prisoners.  In  earlier  days  the  galleys 
were  rowed  by  freemen,  and  so  late  as  1500  the 
Moors  of  Algiers  pulled  their  own  brigantines  to  the 
attack  of  Spanish  villages,  but  their  boats  were  light, 
and  a  single  man  could  pull  the  oar.  Two  or  three 
were  needed  for  a  galleot,  and  as  many  sometimes  as 
six  for  each  oar  of  a  large  galley.  It  was  impossible 
to  induce  freemen  to  toil  at  the  oar,  sweating  close 
together,  for  hour  after  hour — not  sitting,  but  leap- 
ing on  the  bench,  in  order  to  throw  their  whole  weight 
on  the  oar.  "Think  of  six  men  chained  to  a  bench, 
naked  as  when  they  were  born,  one  foot  on  the 
stretcher,  the  other  on  the  bench  in  front,  holding  an 
immensely  heavy  oar  [fifteen  feet  long],  bending  for- 
wards to  the  stern  with  arms  at  full  reach  to  clear  the 
backs  of  the  rowers  in  front,  who  bend  likewise;  and 
then  having  got  forward,  shoving  up  the  oar's  end  to 
let  the  blade  catch  the  water,  then  throwing  their 
bodies  back  on  to  the  groaning  bench.  A  galley  oar 
sometimes  pulls  thus  for  ten,  twelve,  or  even  twenty 
hours  without  a  moment's  rest.  The  boatswain,  or 
other  sailor,  in  such  a  stress,  puts  a  piece  of  bread 
steeped  in  wine  in  the  wretched  rower's  mouth  to  stop 
fainting,  and  then  the  captain  shouts  the  order  to  re- 
double the  lash.     If  a  slave  falls  exhausted  upon  his 


104  gri-:at  pirate  stories 

oar  (which  often  chances)  he  is  flogged  till  he  is  taken 
for  dead,  and  then  pitched  unceremoniously  into  the 
sea."  ' 

Those  who  have  not  seen  a  galley  at  sea,  especially 
in  chasing  or  heing  chased,  cannot  well  conceive  the 
shock  such  a  spectacle  must  give  to  a  heart  capable  of 
tlie  least  tincture  of  commiseration.  Tcj  behf)ld  ranks 
and  files  of  half-naked,  half-starved,  half-tanned 
meagre  wretches,  chained  to  a  plank,  from  whence 
they  remove  not  for  months  together  (commonly  half 
a  year),  urged  on,  even  beyond  human  strength,  with 
cruel  and  repeated  blows  on  their  bare  flesh,  to  an  in- 
cessant continuation  of  the  most  violent  of  all  exer- 
cises; and  this  for  whole  days  and  nights  successively, 
which  often  happens  in  a  furious  chase,  when  one 
party,  like  vultures,  is  hurried  on  almost  as  eagerly 
after  their  prey,  as  is  the  weaker  party  hurried  away 
in  hopes  of  preserving  life  and  liberty. 

Sometimes  a  galley-slave  worked  as  long  as  twenty 
years,  sometimes  for  all  his  miserable  life,  at  this 
fearful  calling.  The  poor  creatures  were  chained  so 
close  together  in  their  narrow  bench — a  sharp  cut  was 
the  characteristic  of  the  galley — that  they  could  not 
sleep  at  full  length.  Sometimes  seven  men  (on 
French  galleys,  too,  in  the  last  century),  had  to  live 
and  sleep  in  a  space  ten  feet  by  four.  The  whole  ship 
was  a  sea  of  hopeless  faces.  And  between  the  two 
lines  of  rowers  ran  the  bridge,  and  on  it  stood  two 
boatswains  {comit'i)  armed  with  long  whips,  which 
they  laid  on  to  the  bare  backs  of  the  rowers  with  mer- 
ciless  severity.      Furttenbach    gives    a   picture    of   the 

1  So   says   Jean    Marteille    de   Bergerac,    a    galley-slave    about    1701. 


GALLEYS  AND  GALLEY-SLAVES        105 

two  boatswains  in  grimly  humorous  verse:  how  they 
stand, 

Beclad,  belaced,  betrimmed,  with  many  knots  bespick; 
Embroidered,  padded,  tied ;  all  feathers  and  all  flap ; 
Curly,  and  queued,  equipped,  curious  of  hood  and  cap: 

and  how  they  "ever  stolidly  smite"  the  crew  with  the 
bastinado, 

Or  give  them  a  backward  prod  in  the  naked  flesh  as  they  ply, 
With  the  point  that  pricks  like  a  goad,   when  "powder  and 
shot"  is  the  cry; 

In  order  to  send  the  Turks  to  Davy's  wet  locker: — 

As  John  of  Austria  nipped  them  and  riddled  them  with  ball, 
As  soon  as  his  eyes  fell  on  them,  and  ducked  or  slaughtered 
them  all ; 

and  how  the  boatswain's  dreaded  whistle  shrieked 
through  the  ship  : — 

For  they  hearken  to  such  a  blast  through  all  the  swish  and 

sweat, 
Through  rattle  and  rumpus  and  raps,  and  the  kicks  and  cuffs 

that  they  get, 
Through  the  chatter  and  tread,  and  the   rudder's  wash,  and 

the  dismal  clank 
Of  the  shameful  chain  which  forever  binds  the  slave  to  the 

bank. 

To  this  may  be  added  Captain  Pantero  Pantera's  des- 
cription of  the  boatswain's  demeanour:  "He  should 
appear  kindly  towards  the  crew:  assist  it,  pet  it,  but 
without  undue  familiarity;  be,  in  short,  its  guardian 
and  in  some  sort  its  father,  remembering  that,  when 
all's  said,  'tis  human  flesh,  and  human  flesh  in  direst 
misery." 


106  GREAT  PIRATE  STORIES 

riiis  terrible  living  grave  of  a  galley,  let  us  remem- 
ber, is  depicted  from  Christian  models.  A  hundred 
and  fifty  years  ago  sucli  scenes  might  be  witnessed  on 
many  a  European  vessel.  The  Corsairs  of  Algiers 
only  served  their  enemies  as  they  served  them:  their 
galley  slaves  were  no  worse  treated,  to  say  the  least, 
than  were  Doria's  or  the  King  of  France's  own. 
Rank  and  delicate  nurture  were  respected  on  neither 
side:  a  gallant  Corsair  like  Dragut  had  to  drag  his 
chain  and  pull  his  insatiable  oar  like  any  convict  at  the 
treadmill,  and  a  future  grand  master  of  Malta  might 
chance  to  take  his  seat  on  the  rowing  bench  beside 
commonest  scoundrel  of  Naples.  No  one  seemed  to 
observe  the  horrible  brutality  of  the  service,  where 
each  man,  let  him  be  never  so  refined,  was  compelled 
to  endure  the  filth  and  vermin  of  his  neighbour  who 
might  be  half  a  savage  and  was  bound  to  become 
wholly  one;  and  when  Madame  de  Grignan  wrote  an 
account  of  a  visit  to  a  galley,  her  friend  Madame  de 
Sevigne  replied  that  she  would  "much  like  to  see  this 
sort  of  Hell,"  and  the  men  "groaning  day  and  night 
under  the  weight  of  their  chains."  Autres  temps, 
autre 5  moeurs! 

Furttenbach  tells  us  much  more  about  the  galley; 
and  how  it  was  rigged  out  with  brilliant  cloths  on  the 
bulworks  on  fete-days;  how  the  biscuit  was  made  to 
last  six  or  eight  months,  each  slave  getting  twenty- 
eight  ounces  thrice  a  week,  and  a  spoonful  of  some 
mess  of  rice  or  bones  or  green  stuff;  of  the  trouble  of 
keeping  the  water-cans  under  the  benches  full  and 
fairly  fresh.  The  full  complement  of  a  large  galley 
included,  he  says,  besides  about  270  rowers,  and  the 


GALLEYS  AND  GALLEY-SLAVES       107 

captain,  chaplain,  doctor,  scrivener,  boatswains,  and 
master,  or  pilot,  ten  or  fifteen  gentlemen  adventurers, 
friends  of  the  captain,  sharing  his  mess,  and  berthed 
in  the  poop;  twelve  helmsmen  {timonieri) ^  six  fore- 
top  A.B's.,  ten  warders  for  the  captives,  twelve  ordi- 
nary seamen,  four  gunners,  a  carpenter,  smith,  cooper, 
and  a  couple  of  cooks,  together  with  fifty  or  sixty  sol- 
diers; so  that  the  whole  equipage  of  a  fighting-galley 
must  have  reached  a  total  of  about  four  hundred  men.^ 

What  is  true  of  a  European  galley  is  also  generally 
applicable  to  a  Barbary  galleot,  except  that  the  latter 
was  generally  smaller  and  lighter,  and  had  commonly 
but  one  mast,  and  no  castle  on  the  prow.  The  Alge- 
rines  preferred  fighting  on  galleots  of  eighteen  to 
twenty-four  banks  of  oars,  as  more  manageable  than 
larger  ships.  The  crew  of  about  two  hundred  men 
was  very  densely  packed,  and  about  one  hundred  sol- 
diers armed  with  muskets,  bows,  and  scimitars  oc- 
cupied the  poop.  Haedo  has  described  the  general 
system  of  the  Corsairs  as  he  knew  it  at  the  close  of 
the  sixteenth  century,  and  his  account,  here  sum- 
marized, holds  good  for  earlier  and  somewhat  later 
periods : — 

These  vessels  are  perpetually  building  or  repairing 
at  Algiers;  the  builders  are  all  Christians,  who  have  a 
monthly  pay  from  the  Treasury  of  six,  eight,  or  ten 
quarter-dollars,  with  a  daily  allowance  of  three  loaves 
of  the  same  bread  with  the  Turkish  soldiery,  who 
have  four.  Some  of  the  upper  rank  of  these  masters 
have  six  and  even  eight  of  these  loaves;  nor  has  any 

1  In  1630  a  French  galley's  company  consisted  of  250  formats  and 
116  officers,  soldiers,  and  sailors. 


108  GREAT  PIRATE  STORIES 

of  their  workmen,  as  carpenters,  caulkers,  coopers, 
oar-makers,  smiths,  &c.,  fewer  than  three.  The 
Bcylik,  or  common  maij;a'/.inc,  never  wants  slaves  of 
all  useful  callings,  "nor  is  it  prol)al)le  that  they  should 
ever  have  a  scarcity  of  such  while  they  are  continually 
hrinj2;in^  in  incredible  numbers  of  Christians  of  all 
nations."  The  captains,  too,  have  their  private  artifi- 
cer slaves,  whom  they  buy  for  hi^h  prices  and  take 
with  them  on  the  cruise,  and  hire  them  out  to  help 
the  Bcylik  workmen  when  ashore. 

The  number  of  vessels  possessed  at  any  one  time  by 
the  Algerines  appears  to  have  never  been  large.  Bar- 
barossa  and  Dragut  were  content  with  small  squad- 
rons. Ochiali  had  but  fifteen  Algerine  galleys  at 
Lepanto.  Hadeo  says  that  the  close  of  the  sixteenth 
century  (1581)  the  Algerines  possessed  36  galleots 
or  galleys,  made  up  of  3  of  24  banks,  i  of  23,  11  of 
22,  8  of  20,  I  of  19,  10  of  18,  and  2  of  15,  and  these 
were,  all  but  14,  commanded  by  renegades.  They 
had  besides  a  certain  number  of  brigantines  of  14 
banks,  chiefly  belonging  to  Moors  at  Shershel.  This 
agrees  substantially  with  Father  Dan's  account 
(1634),  who  says  that  there  were  in  1588  thirty-five 
galleys  or  brigantines  (he  means  galleots)  of  which 
all  but  eleven  were  commanded  by  renegades. 
Haedo  gives  the  list  of  the  35  captains,  from  which 
the  following  names  are  selected:  Ja'far  the  Pasha 
(Hungarian),  Memi  (Albanian),  Pvlurad  (French), 
Deli  Memi  (Greek),  Murad  Re'is  (Albanian),  Feru 
Reis  (Genoese),  Murad  Maltrapillo  and  Yusuf 
(Spaniards),  Memi  ReTs  and  Memi  Gancho  (Vene-  [ 
tians),  Murad  the  Less  (Greek),  Memi  the  Corsican,        ( 


GALLEYS  AND  GALLEY-SLAVES       109 

Memi  the  Calabrlan,  Montez  the  Sicilian,  and  so 
forth,  most  of  whom  commanded  galleys  of  22  to  24 
banks. 

It  was  a  pretty  sight  to  see  the  launching  of  a  gal- 
ley. After  the  long  months  of  labour,  after  felling 
the  oak  and  pine  in  the  forests  of  Shershel,  and  carry- 
ing the  fashioned  planks  on  camels,  mules,  or  their 
own  shoulders  some  thirty  miles  to  the  seashore;  or 
perhaps  breaking  up  some  unwieldly  prize  vessel 
taken  from  the  Spaniards  or  Venetians;  after  all  the 
sawing  and  fitting  and  caulking  and  painting;  then  at 
last  comes  the  day  of  rejoicing  for  the  Christian  slaves 
who  alone  have  done  the  work:  for  no  Mussulman 
would  offer  to  put  a  finger  to  the  building  of  a  vessel, 
saving  a  few  Morisco  oar-makers  and  caulkers. 
Then  the  armadores,  or  owners  of  the  new  galleot,  as 
soon  as  it  Is  finished,  come  down  with  presents  of 
money  and  clothes,  and  hang  them  upon  the  mast  and 
rigging,  to  the  value  of  two  hundred  ducats,  to  be 
divided  among  their  slaves,  whose  only  pay  till  that 
day  has  been  the  daily  loaves.  Then  again  on  the 
day  of  launching,  after  the  vessel  has  been  keeled 
over,  and  the  bottom  carefully  greased  from  stem  to 
stern,  more  presents  from  owners  and  captains  to  the 
workmen,  to  say  nothing  of  a  hearty  dinner;  and  a 
great  straining  and  shoving  of  brawny  arms  and  bare 
backs,  a  shout  of  Allahu  Akhar,  "God  is  Most  Great," 
as  the  sheep  is  slaughtered  over  the  vessel's  prow — a 
symbol,  they  said,  of  the  Christian  blood  to  be  shed 
— and  the  galleot  glides  into  the  water  prepared  for 
her  career  of  devastation:  built  by  Christians  and 
manned   by    Christians,    commanded   probably   by    a 


no  GREAT  PIRATE  STORIES 

quondam    Christian,    she    sallies    forth    to    prey    upon 
Christendom. 

The  rowers,  if  possihle,  were  all  Christian  slaves, 
belonging  to  the  owners,  but  when  these  were  not 
numerous  enough,  other  slaves,  or  Arabs  and  Moors, 
were  hired  at  ten  ducats  the  trip,  prize  or  no  prize. 
If  he  was  able,  the  captain  (Rets)  would  build  and 
furnish  out  his  own  vessel,  entirely  at  his  own  cost, 
in  hope  of  greater  profit;  but  often  he  had  not  the 
means,  and  then  he  would  call  in  the  aid  of  one  or 
more  armadores.  These  were  often  speculative  shop- 
keepers, who  invested  in  a  part  share  of  a  galleot  on 
the  chance  of  a  prize,  and  who  often  discovered  that 
ruin  lay  in  so  hazardous  a  lottery.  The  complement 
of  soldiers,  whether  volunteers  (Icvents),  consisting 
of  Turks,  renegades,  or  Kuroghler  {Kiiloghler) — i.e., 
Creoles,  natives,  Turks  born  on  the  soil — or  if  these 
cannot  be  had,  ordinary  Moors,  or  Ottoman  janis- 
saries, varied  with  the  vessel's  size,  but  generally  was 
calculated  at  two  to  each  oar,  because  there  was  just 
room  for  two  men  to  sit  beside  each  bank  of  rowers: 
they  were  not  paid  unless  they  took  a  prize,  nor  were 
they  supplied  with  anything  more  than  biscuit,  vine- 
gar, and  oil — everything  else,  even  their  blankets, 
they  found  themselves.  The  soldiers  were  under  the 
command  of  their  own  Aga,  who  was  entirely  in- 
dependent of  the  Reis  and  formed  an  efficient  check 
upon  that  officer's  conduct.  Vinegar  and  water,  with 
a  few  drops  of  oil  on  the  surface,  formed  the  chief 
drink  of  the  galley  slaves,  and  their  food  was 
moistened  biscuit  or  rusk,  and  an  occasional  mess  of 
gruel    {burgol)  :   nor  was   this   given   out  when   hard 


GALLEYS  AND  GALLEY-SLAVES       111 

rowing  was  needed,  for  oars  move  slackly  on  a  full 
stomach. 

It  was  usual  to  consult  an  auguratlon  book  and  a 
marahut,  or  saint,  before  deciding  on  a  fortunate  day 
for  putting  to  sea,  and  these  saints  expected  a  share 
of  the  prize  money.  Fridays  and  Sundays  were  the 
favourite  days  for  sailing;  a  gun  is  fired  in  honour  of 
their  tutelary  patron;  "God  speed  us!"  shout  the 
crew;  "God  send  you  a  prize!"  reply  the  crowd  on 
the  shore,  and  the  galleot  swiftly  glides  away  on  its 
destructive  path.  "The  Algerines,"  says  Haedo, 
"generally  speaking,  are  out  upon  the  cruise  winter 
and  summer,  the  whole  year  round;  and  so  devoid  of 
dread  they  roam  these  eastern  and  western  seas, 
laughing  all  the  while  at  the  Christian  galleys  (which 
lie  trumpetting,  gaming,  and  banqueting  in  the  ports 
of  Christendom),  neither  more  nor  less  than  if  they 
went  a  hunting  hares  and  rabbits,  killing  here  one  and 
there  another.  Nay,  far  from  being  under  appre- 
hension, they  are  certain  of  their  game;  since  their 
galleots  are  so  extremely  light  and  nimble,  and  in 
such  excellent  order,  as  they  always  are;  ^  whereas,  on 
the  contrary,  the  Christian  galleys  are  so  heavy,  so 
embarrassed,  and  in  such  bad  order  and  confusion, 
that  it  is  utterly  in  vain  to  think  of  giving  them  chase, 

^  The  Corsairs  prided  themselves  on  the  ship-shape  appearance  of 
their  vessels.  Everything  was  stowed  away  with  marvellous  neatness 
and  economy  of  space  and  speed ;  even  the  anchor  was  lowered  into 
the  hold  less  it  should  interfere  with  the  "dressing"  of  the  oars.  The 
weapons  were  never  hung,  but  securely  lashed,  and  when  chasing  an 
enemy,  no  movement  of  any  kind  was  permitted  to  the  crew  and 
soldiers,  save  when  necessary  to  the  progress  and  defence  of  the  ship. 
These  Corsairs,  in  faa,  understood  the  conditions  of  a  rowing-race  to 
perfection. 


112  GREAT  PIRATE  STORIES 

or  of  preventing  them  from  goin{^  and  coming,  and 
doing  just  as  they  their  selves  please.  This  is  the  oc- 
casion that,  when  at  any  time  the  Christian  galleys 
chase  them,  their  custom  is,  by  way  of  game  and  sneer, 
to  point  their  fresh-tallowed  poops,  as  they  glide  along 
like  fishes  before  them,  all  one  as  if  they  showed  them 
their  backs  to  salute:  and  as  in  cruising  art,  by  con- 
tinual practise,  they  are  so  very  expert,  and  withal 
(for  our  sins)  so  daring,  presumptuous,  and  fortu- 
nate, in  a  few  days  from  their  leaving  Algiers  they 
return  laden  with  infinite  wealth  and  captives;  and  are 
able  to  make  three  or  four  voyages  In  a  year,  and 
even  more  if  they  are  inclined  to  exert  themselves. 
Those  who  have  been  cruising  westward,  when  they 
have  taken  a  prize,  conduct  it  to  sell  at  Tetwan,  El- 
Araish,  &c.,  in  the  kingdom  of  Fez;  as  do  those  who 
have  been  eastward,  in  the  states  of  Tunis  and 
Tripoli :  where,  refurnishing  themselves  with  provi- 
sions, &c.,  they  Instantly  set  out  again,  and  again  re- 
turn with  cargoes  of  Christians  and  their  effects.  If 
it  sometimes  happens  more  particularly  in  winter,  that 
they  have  roamed  about  for  any  considerable  time 
without  lighting  on  any  booty,  they  retire  to  some  one 
of  these  seven  places,  viz: — If  they  had  been  in  the 
west  their  retreats  were  Tetwan,  Al-Araish,  or  Yu- 
sale;  those  who  came  from  the  Spanish  coasts  went 
to  the  island  Formentara;  and  such  as  had  been 
eastward  retired  to  the  island  S.  Pedro,  near  Sardinia, 
the  mouths  of  Bonifacio  in  Corsica,  or  the  islands 
Lipari  and  Strombolo,  near  Sicily  and  Calabria;  and 
there,  what  with  the  conveniency  of  those  commodious 
ports  and  harbours,  and  the  fine  springs  and  fountains 


GALLEYS  AND  GALLEY-SLAVES       113 

of  water,  with  the  plenty  of  wood  for  fuel  they  meet 
with,  added  to  the  careless  negligence  of  the  Chris- 
tian galleys,  who  scarce  think  it  their  business  to  seek 
for  them — they  there,  very  much  at  their  ease,  regale 
themselves,  with  stretched-out  legs,  waiting  to  inter- 
cept the  paces  of  Christian  ships,  which  come  there 
and  deliver  themselves  into  their  clutches." 

Father  Dan  describes  their  mode  of  attack  as  per- 
fectly ferocious.  Flying  a  foreign  flag,  they  lure  the 
unsuspecting  victim  within  striking  distance,  and  then 
the  gunners  (generally  renegades)  ply  the  shot  with 
unabated  rapidity,  while  the  sailors  and  boatswains 
chain  the  slaves  that  they  may  not  take  part  in  the 
struggle.  The  fighting  men  stand  ready,  their  arms 
bared,  muskets  primed,  and  scimitars  flashing,  waiting 
for  the  order  to  board.  Their  war-cry  was  appall- 
ing; and  the  fury  of  the  onslaught  was  such  as  to 
strike  panic  into  the  stoutest  heart. 

When  a  prize  was  taken  the  booty  was  divided  with 
scrupulous  honesty  between  the  owners  and  the  cap- 
tors, with  a  certain  proportion  (varying  from  a  fifth 
to  an  eighth)  reserved  for  the  Beylik,  or  government, 
who  also  claimed  the  hulks.  Of  the  remainder,  half 
went  to  the  owners  and  Rei's,  the  other  half  to  the 
crew  and  soldiers.  The  principal  officers  took  each 
three  shares,  the  gunners  and  helmsmen  two,  and  the 
soldiers  and  swabbers  one;  the  Christian  slaves  re- 
ceived from  1 1/2  to  three  shares  apiece.  A  scrivener 
saw  to  the  accuracy  of  the  division.  If  the  prize  was 
a  very  large  one,  the  captors  usually  towed  it  into 
Algiers  at  once,  but  small  vessels  were  generally  sent 
home  under  a  lieutenant  and  a  jury-crew  of  Moors. 


114 


GREAT  PIRATE  STORIES 


'Ihcrc  is  no  mistaking  the  aspect  of  a  Corsair  who 
has  secured  a  pri/.e:  for  he  fires  j^un  after  f^un  as  lie 
draws  near  the  port,  utterly  rej^ardless  of  powder. 
The  moment  he  is  in  the  roads,  the  Liman  Keis,  or 
Port  Admiral,  goes  on  board,  and  takes  his  report  to 
the  Pasha;  then  the  galleot  enters  the  port,  and  all 
the  oars  are  dropped  into  the  water  and  towed  ashore, 
so  that  no  Christian  captives  may  make  off  with  the 
ship  in  the  absence  of  the  captain  and  troops.  Ashore 
all  is  bustle  and  delighted  confusion;  the  dulness  of 
trade,  which  is  the  normal  condition  of  Algiers  be- 
tween the  arrivals  of  prizes,  is  forgotten  in  the  joy 
of  renewed  wealth;  the  erstwhile  shabby  now  go  strut- 
ting about,  pranked  out  in  gay  raiment,  the  commerce 
of  the  bar-rooms  is  brisk,  and  every  one  thinks  only  of 
enjoying  himself.     Algiers  is  en  fete. 


THE  GALLEON  OF  VENICE 

[From  "Sea-Wolves  of  the  Mediterranean,"  by 
R.  Hamilton  Curry,  R.  N.] 

THERE  Is  something  almost  pathetic  in  the 
spectacle  of  a  really  great  leader  badgered 
and  importuned  by  lesser  men  to  adopt  a 
course  which  he,  with  a  superior  insight,  knows  to  be 
unsound.  In  the  matter  of  the  landing  Barbarossa 
had  demonstrated  that  it  was  he  whose  knowledge 
of  war  was  superior  to  those  who  were  so  ready  to 
thrust  upon  him  their  opinions;  this,  however,  did  not 
content  them,  and  they  now  desired  to  close  with  the 
foe  waiting  for  them  outside.  If  ever  a  commander 
was  justified  in  waiting  on  events  it  was  Barbarossa 
at  this  juncture;  the  business  of  a  commander-in-chief 
is  to  ensure  victory,  and  if  he  sees,  as  did  the  Moslem 
admiral  on  this  occasion,  that  more  is  to  be  gained  by 
delay  than  by  fighting,  then  he  is  justified  in  refusing 
battle:  particularly  is  this  the  case  when  the  enemy  is 
in  greatly  superior  force  blockading  on  an  open  and 
dangerous  coast  at  an  inclement  season  of  the  year. 
Every  day  that  Doria  was  kept  at  sea  added  to  his 
difficulties,  as  fresh  water  and  provisions  would  be 
running  short,  and  the  energies  of  the  human  engines 
by  which  his  galleys  were  propelled  would  be 
weakened;  naked  men  chained  to  a  bench  were  suffer- 

115 


116  GREAT  PIRATE  STORIES 

injj;  from  the  blazing  heat  of  the  days,  the  cold  and 
drenching  dews  of  the  nights.  All  these  things  had 
the  veteran  seaman  weighed  in  his  mind,  they  all  in- 
clined him  to  wait  still  longer  in  that  secure  anchorage 
where  he  could  not  be  touched  by  his  foe. 

There  was  one  counsellor,  however,  whom  even 
Kheyr-ed-Din  could  not  resist,  and  who  had  hitherto 
kept  silence;  this  was  the  eunuch  Monuc,  legal 
counsellor  to  Soliman,  who  had  accompanied  the  ar- 
mada. He  now  brought  the  weight  of  his  influence 
to  bear  upon  the  side  of  Sinan-Reis  and  his  colleagues. 

"Are  you  going,"  he  asked  the  admiral,  "to  allow 
the  infidels  to  escape  without  a  battle?  Soliman  can 
find  plenty  of  wood  to  build  new  fleets,  plenty  of  cap- 
tains to  command  them;  he  will  pardon  you  if  this 
fleet  is  destroyed:  that  which  he  will  never  pardon  is 
that  you  should  allow  Doria  to  escape  without  fight- 
ing. You  have  brave  men  in  plenty;  why  not  lead 
them  to  the  attack?" 

The  patience  of  the  veteran  gave  way  at  last;  none 
who  knew  Barbarossa  had  ever  seen  him  shrink  from 
fighting — to  this  his  whole  career  bore  witness.  He 
had  delayed  the  issue  from  the  soundest  of  strategi- 
cal reasons,  which  those  under  his  command  were  too 
stupid  and  too  prejudiced  to  understand:  what  cared 
they  for  reason  in  their  blind  valour? — they  wished 
only  to  do  or  die  heedless  of  the  fact  that  their  lives 
might  be  spent  in  vain.  Truly  it  was  no  thanks  to  the 
subordinates  of  Kheyr-ed-Din  that  this  campaign  did 
not  end  in  disaster  to  the  arms  of  the  Ottoman  Porte. 
Such  backing  as  the  admiral  had  came  from  among 
his  own  men,  the  corsairs  whose  lives  had  been  spent 


THE  GALLEON  OF  VENICE  117 

at  sea,  but  their  opinions  were  but  dust  in  the  balance 
once  the  all-powerful  Monuc  ranged  himself  on  the 
side  of  the  malcontents. 

"Let  us  then  fight,"  said  the  admiral  to  Saleh-Reis, 
"or  this  fine  talker  who  is  neither  man  nor  woman 
will  accuse  us  before  the  Grand  Turk  and  we  shall  all 
probably  be  hanged." 

The  Christian  fleet  during  the  night  of  September 
26— 7th  had  made  some  thirty  miles  to  the  southward; 
just  before  daybreak  the  wind  freshened  and  drew 
right  ahead;  Doria  approached  the  island  of  Santa 
Maura  and  anchored  under  the  small  islet  of  Sessola. 

Barbarossa  had  now  decided  to  leave  his  anchorage, 
but  the  veteran  seaman  did  not  disguise  from  himself 
the  risks  which  he  ran :  a  greater  sea  captain  than  he 
once  said  "only  numbers  can  annihilate,"  and  it  was  at 
annihilation  that  both  the  Moslem  and  the  Christian 
aimed:  in  this  case,  however,  he  knew  that  he  could 
but  hope  for  a  hard-won  victory,  and  only  that,  if 
Allah  and  his  Prophet  were  unusually  favourable  to  his 
cause.  He  assembled  his  captains,  many  of  whom 
had  served  with  him  during  long  periods  of  his  career, 
and  directed  them  to  form  line:  he  said,  "I  have  but 
one  order  to  give,  follow  my  movements  attentively 
and  regulate  your  own  accordingly." 

With  fustas,  brigantines,  galleots,  and  galleys,  the 
Ottoman  fleet  amounted  in  all  to  one  hundred  and 
forty  sail.  With  shouts  of  joy  the  soldiers  hailed  the 
command  to  weigh  the  anchors,  and  in  a  very  short 
time  all  were  slowly  moving  seaward. 

The  die  was  cast:  Doria  from  his  anchorage  at 
Sessola  saw  the  sea  white  with  the  sails  of  the  enemy, 


118  GREAT  PIRATE  STORIES 

the  blue  water  churning;  to  foam  iK-ncath  the  strokes 
of  his  oars;  the  C)ttoman  fleet  was  issuinj^  from  tiic 
Ciulf  of  Arta  mand'uvrin^  with  precision  and  deploy- 
ing into  a  single  line  abreast;  which  line  being  slightly 
concave,  cither  from  accident  r)r  design,  resembled  the 
form  of  a  crescent.  In  advance  came  six  great  fustas 
commanded  by  Dragut;  the  left  wing  hugged  the 
shore  as  closely  as  possible;  the  Ottoman  commander- 
in-chief  intended  to  commence  operations  on  the  first 
principles  of  strategy  by  flinging  his  whole  force  on 
a  portion  of  that  of  the  enemy. 

Andrea  Doria  remained  undecided:  he  was  on  a  lee 
shore,  and  that  shore  was  the  coast  of  the  enemy; 
although  his  foes  were  advancing  to  the  attack  it 
seemed  as  if  he  had  no  mind  to  fight:  whether  he  had 
or  had  not  he  displayed  a  most  remarkable  sluggish- 
ness, hesitating  for  three  hours  before  getting  up  his 
anchors;  these  he  only  weighed  at  last  under  pressure 
from  the  bellicose  Patriarch  of  Aquilea,  Vincenzo 
Capello,  and  the  Papal  captain,  Antonio  Grimani. 
DorIa  had  counted  on  the  support  of  the  Galleon  of 
Venice  and  the  nefs;  but  the  galleon  was  becalmed 
four  miles  from  the  land  and  ten  miles  from  Sessola, 
where  DorIa  was  at  the  beginning  of  the  action. 

Condalmlero  sent  a  light  skiff  from  the  Galleon  of 
Venice  to  the  commander-in-chief  demanding  orders 
and  help  from  the  galleys. 

"Begin  the  fight,"  answered  the  admiral,  "you  will 
be  succoured." 

The  position  of  Condalmlero  was  that  of  a  mod- 
ern battleship  which  is  disabled  and  surrounded  by 
foes   in   full   possession   of   their   motive   power;    the 


THE  GALLEON  OF  VENICE  119 

great  galleon  floated  inert  upon  the  waters  while  the 
galleys  could  fight  or  fly  as  they  wished.  The  cap- 
tain of  the  galleon,  however,  had  no  alternative  save 
to  surrender  or  fight;  but  there  was  no  hesitation  on 
his  part,  for  a  more  gallant  officer  never  trod  the  decks 
of  a  warship  of  the  proud  Republic  to  which  he 
belonged. 

The  Moslem  galleys  were  now  close  upon  him, 
although  as  yet  out  of  gun-shot;  around  him  they 
wheeled  and  circled  like  a  flight  of  great  sea-birds, 
their  ferocious  crews  shouting  their  war-cries  calling 
upon  Allah  and  the  Prophet  to  give  them  the  victory 
for  which  they  craved;  many  a  brave  Venetian  who 
heard  for  the  first  time  the  name  of  Barbarossa 
shouted  in  battle  must  have  braced  himself  for  the 
coming  conflict,  knowing  all  that  was  imported  by 
that  terrible  name.  The  sun  shone  in  a  cloudless  sky, 
the  galleon  lay  becalmed  in  the  middle  of  furious  and 
ravening  foes,  the  succour  promised  by  Doria  was  ten 
miles  away;  they  saw  no  movement  which  indicated 
help,  and  the  odds  against  them  were  heavy  indeed. 
But  all  the  nervousness  was  not  on  one  side,  for  the 
Galleon  of  Venice  was  something  new  in  the  naval 
warfare  of  the  time;  she  carried  great  engines  of  de- 
struction in  the  shape  of  great  guns  which  the  corsairs 
could  by  no  means  equal.  Of  this  they  were  well 
aware,  and  the  attack  was  delayed  while  the  oarsmen 
in  the  galleys  rested  on  their  oars  out  of  range  to 
allow  them  breathing  time  before  the  supreme  mo- 
ment arrived.  But  the  hounds  were  only  held  in 
leash;  there  came  a  signal  which  was  answered  by  a 
concentrated  yell  of  fury  and  of  hate;  then  from  right 


120  GREAT  PIRATE  STORIES 

ahead,  right  astern,  on  the  port  side  and  the  star- 
board, the  galleys  were  launched  to  the  attack.  But 
all  on  board  the  great  Venetian  vessel  was  as  still  as 
that  death  which  awaited  so  many  of  the  combatants 
in  this  supreme  struggle. 

Condalmiero  had  caused  the  crew  of  the  galleon  to 
lie  down  upon  her  decks,  and  stood  himself,  a  gallant 
solitary  figure  in  his  shining  armour,  a  mark  for  the 
hail  of  shot  so  soon  to  he  discharged.  It  came,  and 
with  it  the  mast  of  the  galleon  bearing  the  Lion  Stan- 
dard of  St.  Mark  crashed  over  the  side  into  the  water; 
renewed  yells  of  triumph  came  from  the  Moslems,  but 
still  that  ominous  silence  reigned  on  board  the  galleon. 
Untouched,  unharmed,  the  Osmanlis  came  on  firing 
as  rapidly  as  possible  until  they  were  absolutely  within 
arquebuss  range.  Closer  they  came  and  closer;  then 
the  sides  of  the  galleon  burst  Into  sheeted  flame,  and 
the  guns  levelled  at  point  blank  range  tore  through  the 
attacking  host.  Condalmiero  was  throwing  away 
no  chances;  he  had  directed  his  gunners  to  allow  their 
balls  to  ricochet  before  striking  rather  than  to  throw 
them  away  by  allowing  them  to  fly  over  the  heads  of 
the  enemy. 

The  first  broadside  did  terrible  execution;  a  ball 
one  hundred  and  twenty  pounds  in  weight,  fired  by 
the  chief  bombardier,  Francisco  d'Arba  in  person, 
burst  in  the  prow  of  a  galley  so  effectually  that  all 
her  people  flew  aft  to  the  poop  to  prevent  the  water 
rushing  in;  but  the  vessel  was  practically  split  in  twain, 
and  sank  in  a  few  moments.  All  around  were  dead 
and  dying  men,  disabled  galleys,  floating  wreckage; 
the  Galleon  of  Venice  had  taken  a  terrible  toll  of  the 


THE  GALLEON  OF  VENICE  121 

Osmanli;  the  order  to  retreat  out  of  range  was  given, 
and  never  was  order  obeyed  with  greater  alacrity. 

With  accuracy  and  precision  the  galleon  played 
upon  such  vessels  as  remained  within  range,  doing 
great  execution.  But  she  was  now  to  be  subjected 
to  an  even  severer  test  than  the  first  headlong  attack. 
She  had  demonstrated  to  the  Moslem  leaders  that 
here  was  no  vessel  to  be  carried  by  mere  reckless 
valour;  a  disciplined  and  ordered  offensive  was  the 
only  plan  which  promised  success;  the  Osmanli  must 
use  their  brain  as  well  as  their  courage  if  that  tattered 
flag,  rescued  from  the  water,  and  nailed  to  the  stump 
of  the  mast  of  the  galleon,  was  ever  to  be  torn  down. 
There  was  something  daunting  in  the  very  aspect  of 
the  solid  bulk  of  the  huge  Venetian,  something  weird 
in  the  manner  in  which  her  crew  never  showed,  save 
only  the  steadfast  figure  of  her  captain  immovable  as 
a  statue  of  bronze,  where  he  stood  on  her  shot-torn 
poop. 

This  Homeric  conflict  was  a  triumph  of  discipline 
and  gunnery  on  the  part  of  the  Venetians;  alert,  ac- 
curate, and  cool,  the  gunners  of  the  galleon  threw 
away  none  of  their  ammunition:  inspired  by  the  heroic 
spirit  of  their  captain,  great  was  the  honour  which 
they  did  on  this  stricken  field  to  the  noble  traditions 
of  their  forbears  and  the  service  to  which  they 
belonged. 

The  first  attack  had  been  most  brilliantly  repulsed, 
but  this  was  only  preliminary  to  a  conflict  which  was 
to  last  all  through  the  day;  the  Moslem  galleys  with- 
drew out  of  gunshot  and  re-formed;  then  a  squadron 
of  twenty  advanced,  delivered  their  fire,  and  retired; 


122  GREAT  PIRATE  STORIES 

their  place  was  then  taken  by  a  second  squadron,  which 
went  (lii()u;^li  the  same  j)erf()rmance,  and  then  came 
on  a  tliird.  In  this  manner  the  attack,  which  began 
one  hour  after  noon,  and  which  was  continued  until 
sunset,  was  conductech  The  galleon  had  thirteen  men 
killed,  and  forty  wounded ;  juj  dc)ubt  the  slaughter 
wouKl  have  been  much  greater  had  it  not  been  for  the 
enormous  thickness  of  iier  sides  and  for  the  fact  that 
the  guns  carried  by  the  galleys  were  necessarily  light. 
Notwithstanding,  tiie  galleon  suffered  terribly,  she 
was  a  mass  of  wreckage;  twice  fire  had  broken  out  on 
board  of  her,  she  was  cumbered  by  fallen  masts,  bat- 
tered almost  out  of  recognition,  but  still  Condalmiero 
and  her  gallant  crew  fought  on  imperturbably  with  no 
thought  of  surrender.  Covered  with  blood,  wounded 
in  the  face  and  the  right  leg  by  flying  splinters,  her 
captain  preserved  his  magnificent  coolness,  and  his  dec- 
imated crew  responded  nobly  to  his  call.  At  even- 
tide the  fire  from  the  galleon  was  almost  as  deadly  as 
it  had  been  at  the  first  onslaught,  and  many  galleys  of 
the  Turks  were  only  saved  from  sinking  by  the  ac- 
tivity and  bravery  of  their  carpenters,  who,  slung  over 
their  sides  in  "boatswains'  chairs,"  drove  home  huge 
plugs  of  wood  with  their  mallets  into  the  shot-holes 
made  by  the  Venetian  guns. 

At  the  hour  when  the  sun  dipped  below  the  horizon 
all  the  Turkish  fleet  seemed  assembled  to  assault  the 
colossus  which  so  long  had  resisted  their  attack;  there 
was  a  pause  in  the  combat,  and  the  firing  died  down. 
Condalmiero  and  his  men  braced  themselves  for  the 
assault  which  they  felt  to  be  inevitable :  for  now  the 
darkness  was  swiftly  coming,  in  which  they  could  no 


THE  GALLEON  OF  VENICE  123 

longer  see  to  shoot,  and  under  cover  of  which  their 
numerous  foes  could  assail  them  by  boarding  in  com- 
parative safety.  Now  the  moment  had  come  for  the 
last  act  in  this  terrible  drama  of  the  sea.  They  had 
held  their  own  at  long  odds  throughout  the  whole  of 
a  hot  September  day,  and  as  the  level  beams  of  the 
setting  sun  shone  on  their  shattered  ship  they  were 
prepared  to  die,  fighting  to  the  last  man  for  the 
honour  of  Venice  and  the  glory  of  St.  Mark. 

Stiff  and  worn,  wearied  almost  to  the  breaking 
strain,  there  was  no  man  on  board  who  even  dreamt 
of  surrender;  all  the  guns  were  charged  to  the  muzzle 
with  bullets  and  broken  stone,  the  artillerists  match 
in  hand  stood  grimly  awaiting  the  order  to  fire,  strain- 
ing their  eyes  and  their  ears  in  the  gathering  darkness; 
in  a  few  minutes  at  most  they  knew  that  the  fate  of 
the  Galleon  of  Venice  must  be  decided. 

On  board  his  galley,  decorated  for  this  occasion 
with  scarlet  banners,  Barbarossa  himself  directed  the 
assaulting  line.  Never  before  when  the  battle  was 
joined  had  the  gallant  corsair  been  known  to  draw 
back;  and  yet  on  this  occasion  he  not  only  hesitated 
but  actually  hauled  off.  The  Venetians  saw  to  their 
amazement  that  the  expected  attack  was  not  to  be 
pushed  home;  for  Barbarossa  and  his  captains  fell 
upon  some  lesser  vessels :  the  Galleon  of  Venice  was 
victorious. 

Meanwhile  Doria  was  displaying  his  mastery  of 
tactics  when  it  was  hard  fighting  that  was  wanted;  he 
pretended  that  he  wished  to  draw  the  Ottoman  fleet 
into  the  high  seas  in  order  that  he  might  destroy  their 
galleys  by  means  of  the  broadsides  of  his  nefs;  conse- 


124  GREAT  PIRATE  STORIES 

qucfitly  he  executed  useless  parade  movements  when 
lie  should  by  all  the  rules  of  warfare  have  closed  with 
his  enemy  who  was  in  distinctly  inferior  force;  as  he 
had  a  fair  wind  there  is  only  one  conclusion  to  be 
drawn,  and  that  is  that  he  did  not  want  to  fight. 

I  lis  man(EUvres  certainly  mystified  the  Turks,  who 
viewed  his  tactics  with  mistrust,  thinking  them  the  out- 
set of  some  deeply  laid  scheme;  it  never  entered  into 
their  calculations  for  one  moment  that  the  great 
Andrea  Doria,  the  terror  of  the  Mediterranean  sea, 
and  the  victor  in  scores  of  desperate  engagements,  was 
anxious  to  avoid  a  fight. 

Grimani  and  Capello,  docile  to  the  orders  of  their 
admiral,  followed  him  full  of  uneasiness  and  distrust; 
they  were  fighting  men  of  the  most  fiery  description; 
to  them  the  issue  seemed  of  the  simplest:  there  was 
the  enemy  in  inferior  force  to  themselves,  they  had  the 
weather  gauge,  why  delay  the  attack? 

"For  much  less  than  this,"  says  Admiral  Jurien  de 
la  Graviere,  "the  English  shot  Admiral  Byng  in 
1756."  The  conduct  of  Doria  on  this  occasion  has 
certainly  never  been  explained;  the  two  other  leaders 
went  on  board  and  remonstrated  with  their  com- 
mander-in-chief; they  were  neither  of  them  men  who 
could  be  treated  as  negligible  quantities  on  the  field 
of  battle;  both  belonged  to  that  brilliant  Venetian 
nobility  so  renowned  in  commerce  and  in  war. 
Marco  Grimani  was  in  command  of  the  Papal  galleys, 
in  itself  a  mark  of  the  highest  esteem  and  confidence 
from  a  potentate  second  to  none  in  his  influence  in  the 
civilised  world.  To  Vincenzo  Capello,  Henry  the 
Seventh   of   England   confided   his   royal   person    and 


THE  GALLEON  OF  VENICE  125 

the  command  of  his  fleet  when  he  crossed  the  Channel 
to  encounter  Richard  the  Third  at  Bosworth  field. 
Five  times  had  he  filled  the  office  of  Providiteur  in 
Venice,  twice  had  he  been  commander-in-chief  of  her 
fleet,  he  was  in  perpetuity  Procureur  of  St.  Mark,  to 
him  Venice  owed  her  naval  discipline.  He  wore  on 
this  day  the  mantle  of  crimson  silk  with  which  the  Re- 
public invested  her  generals.  Bitter  was  the  rage  in 
his  heart,  and  bitterly  must  he  have  spoken  to  Doria, 
who,  in  spite  of  all  remonstrances,  continued  his  futile 
manoevrlngs. 

There  was  glory  won  on  this  day,  but  it  was  gained 
neither  by  Andrea  Doria  nor  Kheyr-ed-Din  Bar- 
barossa.  The  Galleon  of  Venice  with  Alessandro 
Condalmiero  and  his  gallant  crew  had  shown  to  all  a 
splendid  example  of  disciplined  valour  unexcelled  in 
sixteenth-century  annals. 

Barbarossa  had  captured  a  Venetian  galley,  a  Papal 
galley,  and  five  Spanish  nefs,  but  he  had  recoiled  from 
the  assault  on  Condalmiero  when  the  prize  was 
actually  within  his  grasp.  For  the  rest  it  was  a  day 
of  manoeuvring  and  tactics;  tactics  when  sixty  thousand 
men  had  been  embarked  on  board  two  hundred  ships 
for  a  specific  and  definite  object  on  the  side  of  the 
Christians  and  under  the  command  of  their  most  cele- 
brated admiral;  and  yet  the  balance  of  advantage  was 
actually  gained  by  the  inferior  force.  No  subsequent 
glories  can  ever  wipe  this  stain  from  the  scutcheon  of 
Doria,  or  can  excuse  the  fact  that  at  the  most  supreme 
moment  of  his  career  he  failed  to  fight  the  battle  that 
he  was  in  honour,  in  conscience,  and  in  duty  bound  to 
deliver.     Next  day  the  wind  came  fair  for  Corfu,  and 


126  (;ri:at  pi  rati-:  storiks 

Doria,  his  ships  untouched,  unscathed,  unharmed,  put 
his  liehn  up  and  sailed  away  followed  by  his  fleet. 

Sandoval  records  the  fact  that  Barbarossa,  roar- 
infi;  with  hiu^hter  the  while,  was  accustomed  to  say 
that  Doria  had  even  put  out  his  lanterns  in  order 
that  no  one  mi^ht  sec  whither  he  had  fled.  I  his  was 
an  allusion  to  the  fact — or  supposition — that  Doria 
extinguished  on  that  night  the  great  poop  lantern  car- 
ried by  him  as  admiral. 

When  Soliman  the  Magnificent  heard  of  the  re- 
sult of  this  battle  he  caused  the  town  of  Yamboli, 
where  he  was  at  the  time,  to  be  illuminated,  and  in 
the  excess  of  his  joy  he  added  one  hundred  thousand 
aspres  to  the  revenues  of  the  conqueror;  there  were 
processions  to  the  Grand  Mosque,  and  all  Islam  re- 
joiced and  sang  the  praises  of  the  invincible  admiral 
who  had  humbled  to  the  dust  the  pride  of  the  Chris- 
tian and  caused  the  dreaded  Doria  to  fly  from  before 
the  fleet  of  the  Sultan. 

This,  the  most  historical,  if  not  the  greatest  feat 
in  the  life  of  Kheyr-ed-Din  Barbarossa,  was  for  him  a 
triumph  indeed;  with  a  vastly  inferior  force  he  had 
driven  from  the  field  of  battle  his  "rival  in  glory,"  as 
he  himself  had  denominated  Andrea  Doria,  and  he 
had  accomplished  this  feat  notwithstanding  the  almost 
mutinous  condition  of  his  own  forces.  In  spite  of 
this  It  Is  with  Condalmlero  and  with  him  alone  that 
the  glory  of  this  day  must  rest;  alone,  absolutely  un- 
supported as  we  have  seen,  he  fought  one  of  those 
fights  which  bring  the  heart  Into  the  mouth  when  we 
read  of  them;  the  stern  pride  of  the  Venetian  noble, 
who  despised  as  canaille  the  pirate  hosts  by  whom  he 


THE  GALLEON  OF  VENICE 


127 


was  assailed,  had  its  counterpart  in  the  sturdy  valour 
of  Chief  Bombardier  Francisco  d'Arba  and  the  other 
nameless  heroes  of  which  that  good  company  was  com- 
posed; to  them  we  render  that  homage  which  so  justly 
is  their  due. 


THE  ORIGIN  OF  THE  FREEBOOTERS 

[From  "The  History  of  the  Pirates,"  by 
John  Auchenhalz] 

THE  origin  and  commencement  of  the  Free- 
booters, or  Brethren  of  the  coast,  were  so 
inconsiderable,  as  at  first  to  excite  no  atten- 
tion. With  the  exception  of  a  few  boats,  they  were 
destitute  of  every  kind  of  ships,  even  of  the  smallest 
description :  they  had  neither  ammunition,  pilots,  nor 
provisions,  and  but  little  knowledge  of  navigation; 
and  at  length  they  were  destitute  even  of  money. 
But  all  these  wants  were  compensated  by  their  intre- 
pidity, which  surmounted  every  obstacle,  and  which 
daily  increased  with  their  successes. 

On  their  first  appearance  they  formed  small 
societies,  which,  after  the  example  of  the  Buccaneers, 
they  termed  Matelotages.  In  general,  they  united 
together  to  the  number  of  twenty  or  thirty,  procured 
an  open  boat,  into  which  they  crowded,  and  embarked 
upon  a  cruise.  At  first  they  confined  themselves  to 
giving  chase  to  fishermen's  boats  and  small  craft;  till, 
emboldened  by  success,  they  attacked  ships  of  every 
size,  and  even  men  of  war. 

Their  crews  were  admirably  favored  by  innumer- 
able natural  havens,  gulphs,  and  small  islands,  which 
were  for  the  most  part  deserted,  but  which  abounded 

128 


THE  ORIGIN  OF  THE  FREEBOOTERS    129 

with  provisions,  especially  fish,  tortoises,  marine  birds, 
and  excellent  water.  These  islands  were  very  easy 
of  access  for  small  embarkations,  but  could  not  be 
approached  without  imminent  danger  by  large  vessels, 
and  still  more  so  by  ships. 

The  Free-booters  commenced  their  organized  pira- 
cies about  the  year  1600,  and  continued  their  depre- 
dations, with  various  modifications,  till  the  end  of  the 
seventeenth  century:  if  to  these  be  added  their  less 
important  enterprises,  their  continuance  may  be  ex- 
tended to  the  eighteenth  century. 

The  first  Free-booters  were  only  common  Pirates. 
Little  did  they  foresee  that  their  successors  would  in 
a  short  time  have  the  audacity,  openly  to  brave  Spain, 
whose  power  was  at  that  time  so  great,  and  even  to 
render  themselves  formidable  to  all  Spanish  America. 
At  the  period  now  referred  to,  they  abandoned  the 
West  India  seas,  the  confined  theatre  of  their  petty 
expeditions,  and  undertook  voyages  of  longer  dura- 
tion. After  coasting  along  the  Azores  and  the  islands 
of  Cape  Verd,  they  ventured  in  their  frail  barks  as 
far  as  the  coast  of  Guinea,  and  thence  to  Brazil: 
some  of  them  advanced  even  to  the  East  Indies. 
When  their  cruise  had  successfully  terminated,  they 
returned  to  Madagascar;  where  they  landed,  and  spent 
the  produce  of  their  captures.  Very  few  of  them 
ever  revisited  Europe,  which  had  given  them  birth,  or 
even  their  American  dwellings :  but  their  successors 
formed  a  deliberate  plan.  The  West  Indies  con- 
tinued the  principal  theatre  of  their  depredations,  so 
long  as  those  latitudes  afforded  them  protection. 
The  island  of  St.  Christopher,  and  afterwards  those 


130  GREAT  PIRATE  STORIES 

of  Tortu^as,  St.  DorTiinj^^o,  and  Jamaica,  were  their 
accustomed  residences,  or  rather  places  of  resort;  and 
their  piracies  were  confined  to  the  American  seas. 

Tortugas,  in  particuhir,  was  regarded  as  their  real 
place  of  abode;  the  planters  of  which  island  (already 
hclon^inp;  to  France)  were,  from  a  false  policy,  left 
altogether  to  themselves,  with  very  circumscribed 
means,  both  of  subsistence  and  of  commerce.  Beinj^ 
in  tlie  \icinity  of  St.  I)omin^;o,  they  were  envious  of 
its  happy  situation;  and,  in  order  to  indemnify  them- 
selves for  their  own  uncomfortable  condition,  they 
gradually  formed  a  system  of  piracy,  the  object  of 
which  was,  to  procure  by  force  that  subsistence  which 
they  were  denied  by  circumstances. 

A  Frenchman  of  Dieppe,  Pierre  le  Grand,  (which 
name  afterwards  became  his  heroic  appellation),  led 
the  way  in  this  course  by  a  brilliant  action,  which 
excited  emulation.  He  set  sail  with  a  pirate  vessel, 
manned  only  by  twenty-eight  men;  and  at  the  extrem- 
ity of  Cape  Filburon,  on  the  western  coast  of  St. 
Domingo,  met  a  Spanish  ship,  the  crew  of  which 
amounted  to  upwards  of  two  hundred  men,  and  which 
was  also  mounted  with  cannon.  She  belonged  to  a 
fleet  of  merchantmen  that  were  sailing  towards  Eu- 
rope, but  having  been  separated  from  the  rest,  was 
peaceably  pursuing  her  route.  As  soon  as  the  Pirates 
perceived  her,  they  swore,  one  after  another,  on  the 
hands  of  their  chief,  that  they  would  capture  her  or 
perish,  and  immediately  sailed  directly  to  her.  The 
sun  was  setting  when  they  boarded  the  Spanish  ship, 
armed  with  pistols;  in  a  moment  they  pierced  their 
own  bark  in  several  places,  which  sunk  almost  beneath 


THE  ORIGIN  OF  THE  FREEBOOTERS    13. 

their  feet,  with  every  thing  it  contained.  The  fero= 
cious  conquerers  slew  every  one  that  resisted,  took 
possession  of  the  magazine  of  arms,  surprised  the 
officers  who  were  playing  at  cards  in  perfect  security, 
and  in  a  very  short  time  made  themselves  masters  of 
the  ship.  The  Spaniards  who  were  thus  unexpectedly 
attacked,  perceiving  no  ship  near  them,  considered 
these  Pirates  as  demons  that  had  fallen  from  the  sky, 
and  said  one  to  another,  "These  men  are  devils!" 
They  surrendered  without  making  any  defence. 

By  this  adventure,  Captain  Pierre  made  a  capture 
by  which  all  his  crew  were  suddenly  enriched.  Not 
wishing  to  run  the  risk  of  losing  again  the  wealth  thus 
rapidly  gained,  he  landed  all  the  Spanish  sailors  that 
were  not  absolutely  necessary  to  work  the  ship,  and 
immediately  set  sail  for  France.  He  returned  no 
more  to  America;  but  the  memory  of  his  brilliant 
action  left  there  a  profound  impression,  which  was 
not  easily  to  be  effaced. 

Almost  all  the  Spanish  ships  that  appeared  in  those 
seas  were  successively  attacked,  and  of  course  cap- 
tured, of  whatever  size  they  might  be,  whether  large 
or  small,  whether  mounted  with  cannon  or  not, 
whether  they  were  sailing  alone  or  in  convoy.  The 
wretched  barks  of  the  Free-booters  gradually  dis- 
appeared after  the  capture  of  so  many  fine  ships,  some 
of  which  were  very  large;  and  these  pirates,  with 
their  new  acquisitions,  scoured  the  seas  with  more  se- 
curity, and  carried  on  their  robberies  upon  a  larger 
scale. 

Now,  indeed,  the  Spaniards  paid  more  attention  to 
the  progress  of  the  Free-booters,  who  threatened  with 


132  GREAT  PIRATE  STORIES 

utter  destruction  their  vast  commerce,  as  well  as 
their  navigation  in  the  American  seas.  They  there- 
fore e(]uippc(l  two  large  men  of  war,  in  order  to  pro- 
tect their  coasts,  and  cruise  against  these  formidable 
pirates;  who,  however,  became  in  consequence  more 
active  and  audacious.  A  large  number  of  plunderers 
assembled  together  under  their  destroying  flag. 

Nor  was  the  I'Vench  the  only  nation  that  attacked 
the  Spanish  ships:  they  were  chased  by  other  nations, 
viz.  the  English,  the  Dutch,  and  especially  by  the 
Portuguese.  Hence  immense  captures  were  made: 
the  market  for  this  pillage  increased,  the  sale  of  their 
prizes  became  more  easy,  and  their  profession  more 
attractive.  In  a  short  time  Jamaica  served  as  a  place 
of  refuge;  and  to  such  a  degree  did  their  numbers  in- 
crease, that,  notwithstanding  their  armaments,  the 
Spaniards  were  for  some  time  obliged  to  relinquish 
their  navigation  In  those  seas.  They  flattered  them- 
selves with  the  hope,  that  by  presenting  no  prey  for 
the  Free-booters,  they  would  reduce  them  into  a  state 
of  inactivity,  and  consequently  effect  the  dissolution 
of  their  society.  But  they  were  strangely  deceived 
in  their  calculations.  Weary  of  their  unfruitful 
cruises,  the  Free-booters  assembled  together  in  large 
bodies,  conceived  vast  plans,  and  determined  to  under- 
take the  landing  of  men  in  form. 

Lewis  Scott,  an  Englishman,  was  the  first  who  exe- 
cuted one  of  these  schemes,  which  the  Spaniards  had 
not  foreseen.  He  suddenly  penetrated  into  the  city 
of  St.  Francis,  of  Campechy,  which  he  pillaged,  and 
laid  a  heavy  contribution  upon  it,  threatening  to  burn 
it  to  ashes,  and  immediately  afterwards  re-embarked. 


THE  ORIGIN  OF  THE  FREEBOOTERS    133 

This  example  was  followed  by  John  Davis,  a  native 
of  Jamaica;  who,  with  one  ship  and  ninety  men,  at- 
tempted an  action,  the  audacity  of  which  excites  aston- 
ishment. 

He  landed  near  Nicaragua,  leaving  his  ship  at 
anchor  under  guard  of  ten  of  his  companions  in  arms; 
the  remainder  he  distributed  into  three  canoes,  and, 
availing  himself  of  the  darkness  of  the  night,  sailed 
up  the  river  which  leads  to  the  city  of  Grenada.  They 
met  a  sentinel,  to  whom  they  spoke  Spanish,  and 
passed  for  fisherman;  afterwards  they  disembarked 
without  encountering  any  obstacles,  and  massacred  the 
soldiers  who  had  peaceably  witnessed  their  landing; 
and  having  thus  penetrated  the  middle  of  Nicaragua 
without  discovery,  they  dispersed  themselves  through- 
out the  town,  and  pillaged  both  houses  and  churches. 

The  cries  of  terror  which  resounded  on  every  side, 
put  the  inhabitants  in  motion.  They  tumultuously 
assembled  to  defend  themselves;  but  the  Free-booters 
were  too  few  in  number  to  seek  the  dangerous  honor 
of  an  engagement.  Content  with  safely  depositing 
their  prizes,  they  hastily  regained  their  canoes,  and 
took  with  them  some  prisoners  as  hostages,  in  case  of 
accident.  They  successfully  reached  the  coast,  and 
after  releasing  their  prisoners,  they  set  sail  with  their 
plunder,  at  the  very  moment  when  some  hundreds  of 
armed  Spaniards  arrived  in  order  to  attack  them. 
Their  booty,  which  consisted  both  of  silver  and  pre- 
cious stones,  was  worth  40,000  piasters. 

The  Pirates  landed  at  Jamaica,  where  they  formed 
a  fleet  of  eight  ships,  of  which  the  intrepid  Davis  was 
appointed  Admiral  by  his  comrades.     He  immediately 


134  GREAT  PIRATE  STORIES 

set  sail  towards  the  latitude  of  Cuba,  in  order  that  he 
nii^ht  (here  watch  the  coininf^  of  the  fleet  from  Mex- 
ico. I  laving  failed  in  this  enterprize,  and  being  de- 
sirous of  indemnifying  his  men  for  their  loss,  he 
latuieti  at  Morida,  and  j)illaged  the  city  of  St. 
Augustin,  in  defiance  of  its  fort,  which  was  defended 
by  two  hundred  men,  who  continued  immoveable. 
Davis  also  signalised  himself  by  other  bold  achieve- 
ments: he  landed  on  the  coast  of  Granada,  whence  he 
advanced  into  the  South  Sea;  but,  at  length,  for  want 
of  provisions,  he  was  obliged  to  return. 

Another  chieftain  of  the  hrce-booters  was  a  French 
gentleman,  who  was  known  only  by  his  Christian 
name  (Alexander),  to  which,  on  account  of  his  pro- 
digious strength,  had  been  added  the  surname  of  Iron 
Arm.  His  plan  was  to  cruise  only  with  one  ship, 
which  he  called  the  Phoenix,  and  which  was  manned 
only  by  the  most  resolute  men.  In  one  of  these 
cruises  he  encountered  a  violent  tempest.  The  winds 
tore  his  sail  to  pieces,  and  threw  down  his  masts;  the 
lightning  set  fire  to  the  powder  magazine,  and  blew  up 
into  the  air  that  part  of  the  ship  which  contained  it, 
together  w^ith  all  the  Free-booters  who  were  there. 
The  ship,  thus  dismantled,  still  floated;  but  the 
violence  of  the  explosion  cast  the  remainder  of  the 
crew  into  the  sea;  forty  of  whom — and  among  these 
unfortunates  was  their  commander — were  enabled  to 
save  themselves  from  the  wreck,  by  the  vicinity  of  the 
neighbouring  coast.  This  place  was  an  island  near 
the  Dragon's  Mouth,  and  inhabited  by  Indians  who 
had  never  been  subdued,  and  who  were  formidable 
from    their    ferocity.     The   situation    of   the    Pirates 


THE  ORIGIN  OF  THE  FREEBOOTERS  135 

was  horrible;  they  were  destitute  of  every  thing,  and 
were  also  obliged  to  preserve  themselves  from  the 
Indians.  One  day  they  were  attacked  by  a  large  de- 
tachment of  these  savages,  for  whose  reception  they 
were  prepared:  several  of  them  were  slain,  and  some 
even  were  taken  prisoners.  Alexander  released 
them;  but,  previously  to  their  departure,  he  wished, 
by  an  ingenious  expedient,  to  inspire  them  with  a 
terror,  which  should  effectually  take  away  their  de- 
sire of  returning.  He  caused  a  cuirass,  made  of  very 
thick  leather,  to  be  stretched  on  a  whalebone,  and  by 
signs  invited  them  to  penetrate  it  with  their  arrows. 
They  shot  these  with  equal  dexterity  and  vigor;  but, 
notwithstanding  their  strength  and  sharpness,  the  ar- 
rows scarcely  grazed  the  cuirass — a  circumstance 
which  excited  their  astonishment  in  no  small  degree. 
Alexander  afterwards  showed  to  them  that  the  arms 
of  the  Free-booters  were  of  a  very  different  temper. 
One  of  them  took  his  fusee,  and  having  withdrawn 
six  paces  farther  than  the  savage,  discharged  his  piece. 
The  shot  went  entirely  through  the  cuirass,  and  even 
the  whalebone  to  which  it  was  attached.  The  stupe- 
fied Indians  approached,  and  examined  the  effect  of 
the  ball;  demanding  one  to  shoot  in  their  turn.  Ac- 
cordingly, they  placed  it  on  their  bow,  which  they  bent, 
and  shot;  but  the  ball  fell  at  their  feet.  Thus  Alex- 
ander made  them  conceive  a  high  idea  of  his  vigor, 
and  gave  them  to  understand  that  all  his  companions 
possessed  equal  strength  with  himself.  This  lesson 
produced  the  desired  effect;  no  Indian  ever  after  mak- 
ing his  appearance. 

At  length  the  Free-booters  perceived  at  a  distance 


136  GREAT  PIRATE  STORIES 

a  ship  coming  with  full  sail  towards  the  shore.  They 
concealed  themselves,  lest  they  should  prevent  her 
from  approachinjj;,  and  delihcratcd  what  steps  it  would 
be  advisable  for  them  to  take.  Some  were  of  opinion 
that  they  should  beseech  the  officers  to  take  them  on 
board:  others  were  apprehensive  of  their  liberty;  and, 
fearing  yet  greater  danger,  wished  to  prepare  for  self- 
dclcnce.  Alexander  proceeded  yet  further:  in  his 
opinion,  it  was  of  little  use  to  defend  themselves; 
they  ought  to  make  an  attack,  and  with  his  proposal 
they  all  coincided.  In  the  meantime  the  ship,  cast  an- 
chor: it  was  a  Spanish  merchantman,  armed  for  war. 
whose  crew  were  in  want  of  water,  which  they  had 
come  to  procure  from  that  island,  where  it  was  excel- 
lent. The  officers  were  far  from  suspecting  that  any 
Pirates  were  there;  but,  knowing  the  treachery  of  the 
islanders,  they  directed  those,  who  were  to  fill  the 
hogsheads,  to  advance  with  very  great  caution,  and 
gave  them  an  escort  of  their  best  soldiers,  of  whom 
thev  took  the  command  in  person. 

The  Free-booters  observed  the  very  great  order  in 
which  their  enemies  marched,  and  that,  from  their 
superiority  in  numbers,  it  was  only  by  attacking  them 
suddenly  that  they  could  obtain  the  victory.  Accord- 
ingly, they  concealed  themselves  in  a  thick  wood, 
whence  they  seized  an  opportunity  of  firing  upon  them. 
The  Spaniards  stopped  to  defend  themselves;  they 
looked  around,  but  no  person  was  visible:  the  species 
of  arms,  however,  which  had  just  been  discharged, 
soon  convinced  them  with  whom  they  had  to  contend. 
With  a  view,  therefore,  to  gain  time,  as  well  as  to 
escape  the  danger  of  the  moment,  and  to  draw  their 


THE  ORIGIN  OF  THE  FREEBOOTERS    137 

adversaries  out  of  their  inaccessible  ambuscade,  they 
laid  themselves  flat  upon  the  ground.  The  Pirates, 
who  had  been  able  to  distinguish  them,  notwithstand- 
ing the  thickness  of  the  foliage,  could  not  account  for 
their  sudden  disappearance.  Instigated  by  impa- 
tience, Alexander  issued  from  his  retreat  in  quest  of 
the  Spaniards,  being  accompanied  by  a  few  of  his 
men.  Suddenly,  his  adversaries  arose;  and  shouting 
horribly,  rushed  upon  the  Free-booters;  whose  com- 
mander was  advancing  directly  towards  the  Spanish 
captain,  when  a  root  of  a  tree  tripped  up  his  feet,  and 
threw  him  down  close  by  the  latter.  The  Spaniard, 
without  giving  him  time  to  rise,  was  about  to  sever 
Alexander's  head  with  his  sabre;  when  the  latter,  at 
this  critical  moment,  saved  himself  by  his  extraor- 
dinary strength.  While  half  fallen  on  the  ground, 
he  seized  the  Spaniard  with  a  grasp,  and  stayed  his 
arm:  in  a  very  short  time  he  was  up  on  his  feet,  and 
called  his  men,  who  ran  towards  him  from  every  side. 
The  Spaniards,  confounded  and  exhausted  by  fatigue, 
all  bit  the  dust;  and  Alexander,  in  order  to  facilitate 
what  yet  remained  to  be  done,  ordered  his  comrades 
to  spare  not  a  single  individual:  his  commands  were 
punctually  obeyed. 

In  the  meantime,  those  who  continued  on  board,  had 
heard  the  report  of  musquetry,  but  entertained  no  ap- 
prehensions concerning  their  men;  supposing  them  only 
to  be  engaged  with  the  islanders,  they  contented  them- 
selves with  .firing  a  few  cannon,  in  order  to  intimidate 
those  savages.  The  Free-booters  did  not  continue  in- 
active after  their  victory:  they  stripped  the  dead,  with 
whose  apparel  they  arrayed  themselves,  not  forgetting 


138 


(iRI'AT  PIRATE  STORIES 


tlicir  lufj^c  caps,  which  covcrcil  tlic  whole  of  the  head. 
Thus  disguised,  they  shouted  cries  of  victory;  marched 
towards  the  shore,  where  they  threw  themselves  into 
the  shallops  which  were  awaiting  the  return  of  the 
Spaniards  that  had  disemharked;  and  at  length  joined 
the  ship,  in  which,  under  cover  of  their  disguise,  they 
were  received  with  transports  ot  joy.  As  the  greater 
part  of  the  soldiers  had  been  sent  away  on  account 
of  the  landing,  which  had  been  attended  with  such 
fatal  consequences,  there  remained  on  board  only  a 
very  few  soldiers,  together  with  the  seamen  and  pas- 
sengers. Their  security  rendered  their  defeat  easy; 
and,  with  the  exception  of  a  few  sailors,  they  were  all 
massacred.  Thus  the  Free-booters  made  themselves 
masters  of  a  ship  richly  laden,  and  arrived  without 
any  accident  at  Tortugas,  after  a  series  of  occurrences, 
which  evinced  at  the  same  time  their  good  fortune, 
their  boldness,  and  tlieir  ferocity. 


IN  THE  GOOD  OLD  DAYS 

[From   "The   History  of   the   Indian  Wars   and   of 

Plantain  the  Pyrate,  &c.,"  by  Clement 

Downing,  R.  N.] 

JOHN  PLANTAIN  was  born  in  Chocolate-Hole, 
on  the  Island  of  Jamaica,  of  English  Parents, 
who  took  care  to  bestow  on  him  the  best  Educa- 
tion, they  themselves  were  possess'd  of;  which  was  to 
curse,  swear,  and  blaspheme,  from  the  time  of  his  first 
learning  to  speak.  This  is  generally  the  chief  Educa- 
tion bestowed  on  the  Children  of  the  common  People 
in  those  Parts.  He  was  sent  to  School  to  learn  to 
read,  which  he  once  could  do  tolerably  well;  but  he 
quickly  forgot  the  same,  for  want  of  practising  it. 
The  Account  he  gave  of  his  first  falling  into  that 
wicked  and  irregular  Course  of  Life,  was,  That  after 
he  was  about  thirteen  Years  of  Age,  he  went  as  Mas- 
ter's Servant  on  board  a  small  Sloop  belonging  to 
Spanish-Town,  on  the  Island  of  Jamaica,  and  they 
went  out  a  privateering  and  to  cut  Logwood  in  the 
Bay  of  Campeachy ;  where  they  generally  used  to 
maroon  the  Spaniards,  and  the  Spaniards  used  to  ma- 
roon them,  as  the  one  or  t'other  happened  to  be 
strongest.  He  followed  this  Course  of  Life  till  he 
was  near  20  Years  of  Age,  when  he  came  to  Rhode- 
Island;  there  he  fell  into  company  with  several  Men 
who  belonged  to  a  Pyrate  Sloop.     These  try'd  to  per- 

139 


140  GREAT  PIRATE  STORIES 

suacic  him,  with  several  others,  to  ^o  with  them;  shew- 
ing great  Sums  of  Ciold,  and  treating  him  and  others 
in  a  profuse  and  expensive  Manner.  His  own  wicked 
Inclinations  soon  led  him  to  acept  the  Offer,  without 
much  Hesitation.  At  the  same  time,  he  acknowl- 
edged that  he  had  no  Occasion  to  go  with  them,  as  he 
belonged  to  a  very  honest  Commander,  and  one  that 
used  the  Sailors  very  well  on  all  Accounts.  But  being 
of  a  roving  Disposition,  he  could  not  bear  being  under 
any  Restraint.  They  soon  went  on  board  this  Pyrate 
Sloop,  and  were  entertained  in  a  handsome  manner, 
being  presented  to  the  Captain,  who  seem'd  to  like 
them  very  well,  and  told  them  if  they  would  sail  with 
him,  they  should  have  the  same  Encouragement  as 
the  other  People  had,  and  that  they  should  in  a  short 
time  take  a  Voyage  which  would  prove  the  making  of 
them  all;  after  this  they  design'd  to  accept  the  first 
Act  of  Grace,  and  leave  off.  They  left  Rhode-Island 
in  this  Sloop  which  they  called  the  Terrible,  com- 
manded by  John  Williams;  and  one  Roberts,  being  a 
bold  and  resolute  Man,  was  made  Quarter-master. 
With  John  Plantain,  entered  the  following  five,  z-iz. 
John  James  of  Boston  in  New-England,  Henry  Millis 
of  Falmouth  in  the  West  of  England;  Richard  Dean 
of  Stepney,  Eondon;  John  Jiarvey  of  Shadzvelf;  and 
Henry  Jones  of  St.  Paul's^  London;  all  young  Men, 
the  oldest  not  being  above  23  Years  of  Age.  When 
ever  any  enter  on  board  of  these  Ships  voluntarily, 
they  are  obliged  to  sign  all  their  Articles  of  Agree- 
ment; which  is  in  effect,  to  renounce  Honour,  and  all 
human  Compassion;  for  they  seldom  shew  any  Mercy 
to  those  who  fall  into  their  Hands. 


IN  THE  GOOD  OLD  DAYS  141 

FROM  Rhode-Island  they  shaped  their  Course 
for  the  Coast  of  Guinea,  and  in  their  way  took  three 
Ships,  amongst  the  Crews  of  which  was  Mr.  Moore 
the  Surgeon,  spoken  of  in  the  Account  of  Commodore 
Matthews's  Transactions.  They  pretended  to  give 
Liberty  to  those  Ships  Crews  either  to  go  or  stay  with 
them.  The  Boatswain  of  the  Ship  to  which  Mr. 
Moore  belonged,  entered  voluntarily,  and  would  have 
used  his  Captain  and  several  of  the  Men  very  bar- 
barously; but  Roberts,  who  was  then  Quarter-master, 
would  not  allow  of  it.  They  kept  the  Surgeon  and 
Carpenter  by  Compulsion,  when  they  found  they  chose 
to  leave  them;  and  took  one  of  the  Ships,  which  prov'd 
to  be  the  best  Sailor,  and  called  her  the  Defiance. 
Now  they  had  got  a  Ship  of  near  300  Tuns,  which 
mounted  30  Guns,  well  mann'd  and  well  stored  with 
Provisions.  They  usually  are  at  no  certain  Allowance 
amongst  themselves,  till  they  are  in  a  Likelihood  of 
being  short  of  Provision,  but  every  Man  is  allowed  to 
eat  what  he  pleases.  Then  they  put  all  under  the 
care  of  their  Quarter-master,  who  discharges  all  things 
with  an  Equality  to  them  all,  every  Man  and  Boy 
faring  alike;  and  even  their  Captain,  or  any  other 
Officer,  is  allowed  no  more  than  another  Man;  nay, 
the  Captain  cannot  keep  his  own  Cabbin  to  himself, 
for  their  Bulk  heads  are  all  down,  and  every  Man 
stands  to  his  Quarters,  where  they  lie  and  mess,  tho' 
they  take  the  liberty  of  ranging  all  over  the  Ships. 

THIS  large  Ship  they  took  was  bound  for 
Jamaica,  called  the  Prosperous  of  London,  one  Capt. 
James  Commander;  whom,  and  so  many  of  his  Crew 
is  were  not  willing  to  go  with  them,  they  put  on  board 


142  GREAT  PIRATE  STORIES 

those  two  other  Vessels  they  let  go.  The  Prosperous 
had  on  hoard  a  considerable  number  of  East-India 
Bales,  which  they  hoisted  up  on  Deck,  and  cut  open; 
the  Quarter-master  distributing  the  same  amongst  the 
Pyrates.  'ihey  arrived  in  a  short  time  on  the  Coast 
of  Guinea,  and  kept  all  the  trading  Ships  from  carry- 
ing on  any  manner  of  Commerce  at  Gambo,  and  the 
other  Ports  on  that  Coast.  Here  they  met  with  the 
Onslow,  whom  they  fought  a  considerable  time;  but 
the  Pyrates  being  well  mann'd,  boarding  her,  made 
sad  Havock  of  her  Crew,  and  brought  them  to  cry 
out  for  Quarter,  which  is  but  very  indifferent  at  best; 
so  when  they  had  taken  her,  they  made  one  of  their 
number  whose  Name  was  England,  a  Man  who  had 
been  Mate  of  several  good  Ships,  Captain  of  her. 
Plantain  and  his  Companions  were  daily  encreasing 
their  Store;  for  not  long  after  they  took  the  Onslow, 
they  mastered  a  Dutch  Interloper,  with  whom  they 
had  a  smart  Battle,  and  had  not  the  Sloop  came  to 
their  Assistance,  they  would  have  been  obliged  to  let 
her  go.  But  the  Sloop  coming  up,  and  pouring  a  great 
number  of  Men  on  board,  they  soon  over-powered 
them.  This  Ship  they  liked  exceeding  well,  and  were 
resolved  to  keep  her,  calling  her  the  Fancy;  and  Capt. 
England  having  a  mind  to  her,  they  allowed  him  to 
command  her. 

THEY  daily  now  encreased  their  number,  and 
were  not  for  keeping  so  many  Ships,  imagining  they 
should  soon  have  a  Squadron  of  Men  of  War  after 
them,  which  they  did  not  care  to  have  any  Corres- 
pondence with.  Now  Capt.  England  proposed  a  new 
Voyage  to  them,  which  might  be  the  making  of  them 


IN  THE  GOOD  OLD  DAYS  143 

all  very  rich;  and  as  they  had  got  such  good  Ships 
under  their  Command,  they  were  resolved  to  make 
the  best  of  their  present  Situation.  First  they  pro- 
posed to  burn  the  Terrible  Sloop,  being  old  and  leaky, 
and  not  fit  to  beat  about  the  Cape.  So  having  finished 
their  Cruise  on  the  Coast  of  Guinea,  they  were  re- 
solved to  steer  another  way.  These  Pyrates  had  now 
got  the  Fancy  under  the  Command  of  Capt.  England^ 
and  a  small  Brigantine  called  the  Unity,  which  they 
named  the  Expedition,  and  gave  the  Command  to  one 
Johnson  that  was  with  them;  tho'  one  Quarter-master 
serv'd  for  them  all.  And  being  in  great  Dispute  how 
and  which  way  they  should  dispose  of  each  other,  they 
went  on  shore  on  the  Coast  of  Guinea,  and  there  held 
a  fresh  Consultation,  when  some  were  for  going  with 
Capt.  England,  and  some  with  Capt.  Roberts.  These 
Disputes  lasted  for  some  time,  but  it  was  left  to  a 
Committee  chose  from  among  them,  on  whose  Deter- 
mination they  resolved  to  rely.  They  had  now  six  or 
seven  Ships  with  them,  on  which  account  it  was  re- 
solved, that  England  and  Roberts  should  separate,  for 
fear  of  a  Civil  War  amongst  themselves.  England 
was  to  take  the  Fancy,  the  Snow,  and  the  Ship  they 
called  the  Victory,  and  go  away  for  the  East-Indies; 
and  Roberts  and  the  rest  were  to  continue  and  range 
about  those  Seas,  as  they  thought  fit.  Roberts  after- 
wards fell  into  the  Hands  of  Sir  Chaloner  Ogle,  and 
by  him  was  brought  up  to  Justice,  and  he  and  his  Crew 
were  hung  up  in  Chains  along  the  Coast  of  Guinea, 
from  Cape-Coast-Castle. 

CAPT.  England  took  to  the  Eastern  Seas,  and 
came  away  for  St.  Augustine^  Bay,  on  the  Island  of 


144  GREAT  PIRATE  STORIES 

Madagascar,  and  his  People  being  very  sickly,  the  Doc- 
tor had  them  sent  on  shore  for  the  Recovery  of  their 
Healths;  but  several  died.  Here  they  cleared  their 
Ship  as  well  as  they  could,  St.  Augustine  s  Bay  being 
a  Place  not  extraordinary  convenient  for  Shipping  to 
lie  in,  on  account  of  the  Foulness  of  the  Ground  in 
the  Bottom  of  the  Harbour,  and  the  irregular  Sound- 
ing, on  which  account  a  Ship  can  no  ways  come  to  an- 
chor there,  to  continue  any  time;  nay,  not  so  much  as 
four  or  five  Hours:  For  'tis  a  hundred  to  one, 
should  the  Anchor  go  in  the  Ground,  or  amongst  the 
Rocks,  if  ever  'tis  got  up  again.  But  there  is  a  Road 
to  the  Southward  of  the  Harbour,  where  you  may 
anchor  in  six  or  seven  Fathom  Water:  Here  is 
smooth  Riding,  and  the  Inhabitants  will  come  off  to 
trade  with  you;  but  be  careful  how  you  trust  them, 
for  they  are  a  more  politick  and  cunning  People  than 
the  Negroes  of  the  Guinea  or  Gold  Coast,  very  crafty 
in  their  way  of  Trade,  and  private  in  their  Intentions, 
speak  you  fair,  but  intend  to  murder  you  at  the  same 
time.  They  have  five  or  six  petty  Kings  near  one 
another,  who  are  in  Alliance  together.  Here  Capt. 
England  lay  in  the  Road,  and  repaired  all  his  Rigging, 
and  got  a  Supply  of  Provisions.  From  hence  he  came 
on  the  Coast  of  Ethiopia,  with  his  two  Ships,  and 
went  to  the  Portuguese  at  Massembeach,  who  sup- 
posed them  to  belong  to  the  English  East-India  Com- 
pany. After  they  had  got  a  fresh  Supply  of  Provi- 
sions, they  sailed  to  the  Island  of  Johanna,  where  they 
lay  some  time,  and  then  cruised  off  the  Streights 
Mouth  of  Babelmondon,  or  the  Red-sea,  where  they 
took  a  Moors  Ship,  richly  laden,  coming  down  from 


IN  THE  GOOD  OLD  DAYS  145 

India.  They  then  made  the  best  of  their  way  for 
Madagascar,  and  went  to  St.  Mary's  Island,  where 
none  of  their  Fraternity  had  been  for  many  Years, 
and  were  very  joyfully  received  by  the  King.  This 
Island  joins  to  the  Continent  of  Madagascar,  and  is 
generally  a  Place  of  Residence  for  Pyrates.  Here 
they  made  a  sad  Massacre  of  the  poor  Moors  Men, 
they  had  taken  in  the  Ship  above-mentioned,  and 
abused  their  Women  in  a  very  vile  manner.  Some 
say,  that  Capt.  England  kept  one  or  two  of  the  Moors 
Women  for  his  own  Use,  there  being  some  of  Distinc- 
tion amongst  them,  whose  Fathers  were  in  high  Posts 
under  the  Great  Mogul. 

THEY  brought  the  Moors  Ship's  Cargo  to  a 
quick  Market,  and  made  Sale  of  what  they  could;  and 
Part  of  the  rest  they  cast  in  heaps  on  the  Beach,  to 
be  spoil'd  by  the  Winds  and  Weather.  The  Ship, 
they  found,  was  not  answerable  for  their  Purpose; 
on  which  account  they  haled  her  on  shore,  and  sunk 
her,  with  some  part  of  her  Cargo  on  board,  which 
was  neglected  by  the  Inhabitants,  who  knew  not  the 
Value  nor  Use  of  those  rich  Commodities.  They 
took  up  their  Winter-Quarters  at  this  Place,  and  re- 
plenished their  Store:  Before  they  sunk  the  Moors 
Ship,  they  made  a  sort  of  Hulk  of  her,  and  hove  down 
their  other  Ships  the  Fancy,  and  Snow,  which  they 
called  the  Expedition;  and  made  a  clean  Ship ;  this 
was  in  the  Year  17 19.  They  then  came  to  Johanna, 
where  they  found  the  Cassandra  and  Greenwich;  the 
former  commanded  by  Capt.  Mackray,  and  the  latter 
by  Capt.  Kirby.  Capt.  Mackray  maintain'd  a  Noble 
Fight  for  a  whole  Day,  and  had  not  the  Ship  drove 


146  GREAT  PIRATE  STORIES 

ashore,  'tis  tliouj^lit  tliat  lie  would  have  cleared  him- 
self ()(  the  Pyrates;  who  themselves  own'd  that  he 
galled  them  bitterly,  and  killed  them  a  ^reat  number 
of  Men.  The  Captain  and  most  of  his  Men  were 
obliged  to  fly  up  into  the  Country;  where  the  People 
happen'd  to  be  civili/cd,  and  afforded  them  Refuge. 
The  Pyrate  in  a  few  Days  sent  for  the  Captain  and 
his  Crew  down,  and  used  them  with  good  Manners, 
ant!  agreed  amongst  themselves  to  give  the  Captain 
the  Fancy,  in  Consideration  of  his  Loss,  and  they  gave 
him  likewise  several  Bales  of  Cloth  which  they  thought 
would  be  of  no  Service  to  them.  As  to  his  Men, 
they  sufferd  all  of  them  to  go  with  him,  except  his 
Carpenter's  Mate,  whom  they  compelled  to  remain 
with  them. 

THE  year  after,  they  came  on  the  Coast  of  Mala- 
bar, and  met  with  the  London  fitted  out  on  Purpose 
to  engage  them,  in  company  with  several  other  Ships. 
But  instead  of  that,  the  whole  Bombay  Fleet  seem'd 
afraid  to  attack  them,  but  burn'd  the  Pralnn  them- 
selves, a  fine  floating  Engine  which  mounted  24  Guns, 
(as  mentioned  before)  and  then  retired  into  the  Har- 
bour of  Bombay. 

THE  Pyrates  after  this  steer'd  for  Domascaicas, 
and  there  fell  in  with  a  large  Ship  belonging  to  the 
Portuguese ;  and  hoisting  English  Colours,  the  Portu- 
guese judged  them  to  be  an  English  Ship  which  had 
lost  their  Passage  as  well  as  themselves,  and  made 
all  things  ready  to  salute  each  other.  In  the  mean 
time,  the  Pyrates  got  all  their  Guns  in  Readiness,  and 
came  ranging  up  her  Side,  and  never  once  offered  to 
fire  a  Gun  till  they  were  near  enough  to  board,  and 


IN  THE  GOOD  OLD  DAYS  14/ 

then  dosed  them  with  double  Round  and  Partridge, 
so  that  the  Shot  went  through  and  through  them. 
They  cut  their  Cable,  and  away  they  went  with  her. 
This  proved  a  very  rich  Prize.  They  also  took 
another  Moors  Ship  the  Year  after  coming  from 
China,  by  which  they  got  Immense  Riches.  The  great 
Ship  they  took  from  the  Portuguese,  they  caused 
afterward  to  mount  70  Guns,  and  on  board  the  Cas- 
sandra they  mounted  40 ;  by  which  they  thought  them- 
selves sole  Masters  of  all  the  Indian  Seas.  They 
after  came  down  to  Madagascar,  and  there  they  re- 
fitted again  at  Port  Dolphin,  and  from  thence  they 
went  to  Charnock  Point.  Here  they  took  out  of  the 
Ships  they  had  with  them,  all  the  Eatables,  Liquors, 
Money,  Jewels,  Diamonds;  and  left  on  shore  fine 
China  and  other  valuable  Goods,  enough  to  have  laden 
a  large  Ship  with.  They  now  held  a  Consultation 
what  they  should  do;  several  were  for  leaving  off,  and 
living  on  what  they  had;  others  of  a  more  covetous 
Disposition,  were  for  still  continuing  in  their  unlaw- 
ful Practices.  However,  the  Majority  wanted  Capt. 
England  to  leave  those  Parts,  and  to  go  down  to 
La  Vera  Cruz,  and  there  to  accept  the  Spanish  Act  of 
Grace.  They  were  now  divided  In  Opinion  what  was 
best  for  them  to  do;  for  they  had  heard  at  St. 
Augustine's  Bay,  that  Commodore  Matthews  was  ar- 
rived in  quest  of  them,  by  his  Letters  left  there  for 
the  Salisbury;  which  Letters  the  Natives  gave  them. 
On  this  they  steer'd  for  Port  Dolphin,  and  from  thence 
to  Moroslas.  They  knew  what  Season  was  coming 
on,  and  how  we  were  obliged  to  shape  our  Course. 
We  came  after  in  the  Salisbury,  and  they  told  us,  that 


148  GREAT  PIRATE  STORIES 

the  Pyratcs  had  got  our  Letters.  On  wliich  Infor- 
mation, they  dispersed  themselves,  and  some  went  to 
one  Place,  and  some  to  another. 

P  I .  .1  N  T  A  I  N ,  James  Adair,  and  Hans  Biirgen 
the  Dane,  had  fortified  themselves  very  strongly  at 
Ranter-Bay;  and  taken  possession  of  a  large  Tract 
of  Country.  Plantain  having  the  most  Money  of 
tliem  all,  called  himself  King  of  Ranter-Bay,  and  the 
Natives  commonly  sing  Songs  in  praise  of  Plantain. 
He  hrought  great  Numbers  of  the  Inhabitants  to  be 
subject  to  him,  and  secm'd  to  govern  them  arbitrarily; 
tho'  he  paid  his  Soldiers  very  much  to  their  Satisfac- 
tion. He  would  frequently  send  Parties  of  Men  into 
other  Dominions,  and  seize  the  Inhabitants'  Cattle. 
He  took  upon  him  to  make  War,  and  to  extort  Trib- 
ute from  several  of  the  petty  Kings  his  Neighbours, 
and  to  encrease  his  own  Dominions. 

JAMES  A  DAIR's  Birth  and  Education  was 
something  superior  to  that  of  Plantain;  for  he  was 
learnt  to  write  as  well  as  read;  and  had  been  brought 
up  in  the  Town  of  Leith,  by  a  sober  and  industrious 
Father  and  Mother.  Not  behaving  to  the  Satisfac- 
tion of  his  Parents,  he  went  for  London,  and  from 
thence,  for  the  IVest-Indies;  but  was  taken  by  the 
Pyrates,  and  after  that  entered  voluntarily  with  them. 
He  was  a  young  Man  of  a  very  hard  Countenance,  but 
something  inclined  to  Good-Nature.  When  we  bar- 
tered with  the  Pyrates  at  Ranter-Bay  for  Provisions, 
they  frequently  shewed  the  Wickedness  of  their  Dis- 
position, by  quarrelling  and  fighting  with  each  other 
upon  the  most  trifling  Occasions.  It  was  their  Cus- 
tom never  to  go  abroad,  except  armed  with  Pistols  or 


IN  THE  GOOD  OLD  DAYS  149 

a  naked  Sword  in  their  Hand,  to  be  in  Readiness  to 
defend  themselves  or  to  attack  others. 

HANS  BURG  EN,  the  Dane,  was  born  at 
Copenhagen,  and  had  been  brought  up  a  Cooper;  but 
coming  to  London,  he  entered  himself  with  Capt. 
Creed  for  Guinea;  the  Ship  being  taken  by  the  Py- 
rates,  he  agreed  to  go  with  them,  and  became  a  Com- 
erade  to  King  Plantain.  This  Plantain's  House  was 
built  in  as  commodious  a  manner  as  the  Nature  of  the 
Place  would  admit;  and  for  his  further  State  and  Rec- 
reation, he  took  a  great  many  Wives  and  Servants, 
whom  he  kept  in  great  Subjection;  and  after  the  Eng- 
lish manner,  called  them  Moll,  Kate,  Sue  or  Pegg. 
These  Women  were  dressed  in  the  richest  Silks,  and 
some  of  them  had  Diamond  Necklaces.  He  fre- 
quently came  over  from  his  own  Territories  to  St. 
Mary's  Island,  and  there  began  to  repair  several 
Parts  of  Capt.  Avery''s  Fortifications. 

THE  King  of  Massaleage  had  with  him  a  very 
beautiful  Grand-daughter,  said  to  be  the  Daughter 
of  an  English  Man,  who  commanded  a  Bristol  Ship, 
that  came  there  on  the  Slaving  Trade.  This  Lady 
was  called  Eleonora  Brown,  so  named  by  her  Father; 
she  had  been  taught  to  speak  a  little  English;  but 
this  is  common  on  the  Island  of  Madagascar,  it  being 
the  chief  Rendezvous  of  the  Pyrates,  where  they  vic- 
tual and  refit  their  Ships.  Plantain  being  desirous 
of  having  a  Lady  of  English  Extraction,  sent  to  the 
King  of  Massaleage  (whom  the  Pyrates  called  Long- 
Dick,  or  King  Dick)  to  demand  his  Grand-daughter 
for  a  Wife.  Capt.  England,  with  60  or  70  Men  had 
dispersed  themselves  about  the  Island,  and  inhabited 


150  GREAT  PIRATE  STORIES 

amongst  the  Negroes:  but  Capt.  England  being  very 
poor,  was  obliged  to  be  beholden   to  several   of  the 
white    Men    for    his    Subsistence.      Several    of    these 
People  had  join'd  King  Dick  at  Massaleaye;  and  per- 
suaded him  to  refuse  Plantain  s  Demand,  to  put  him- 
self in  a  Posture  of  Defence,  and  to  prohibit  all  Cor- 
respontlence  between  any  of  his  Subjects  and  those  of 
Plantain.      The  chief  Weapon  used  by  the  Natives  is 
the  Lance,  which  they  are  very  dextrous  in  throwing. 
But   Plantain   had   got   some    hundreds    of    Firelocks, 
which    he    distributed    among   his    Subjects,    and    had 
learned  them  to  exercise  in  a  pretty  regular  manner. 
He  also  had  great  Store  of  Powder  and  Ball,  and  a 
good  Magazine  provided  with  all  manner  of  Neces- 
saries.     He  was  a  Man  of  undaunted  Courage;  which 
he  shewed  by  venturing  down  to  Charnock  Point,  as 
mentioned  before.     Indeed  I  was  surprized  to  find  a 
Stranger  pop  on  me  armed  as  he  was,  with  two  Pistols 
stuck  in  his  Sash,  tho'  but  mean  in  Habit.     At  that 
time  he  asked  me,  what  we  did  there,  and  whether  we 
were  Men  of  War  sent  out  in  quest  of  them.     I  told 
him,  I  did  not  know  who  he  was;  he  said,  that  he  had 
belonged  to  the  Cassandra,  but  had  now  left  off  Py- 
rating,  and  lived  at  Ranter-Bay.     He  then  gave  me 
the  aforementioned  Account  of  his  Birth  and  Parent- 
age; and  that  if  the  Commodore  thought  proper,  he 
would  trade  with  us,  and  supply  the  whole  Squadron 
with  Cattle,  and  other  Provisions. 

B  U  T  to  return  from  this  Digression:  On  Plan- 
tain's, receiving  this  Message  of  Defiance  from  the 
King  of  Massaleage,  he  sent  to  tell  him,  that  if  he 
did  not  comply  directly,  he  would  bring  such  an  arm'd 


IN  THE  GOOD  OLD  DAYS  151 

Force  against  him,  that  should  drive  him  out  of  his 
Dominions;  and  if  he  happened  to  fall  into  his  Hands, 
he  would  certainly  send  him  to  Prince  William  of  St. 
Augustine's  Bay,  who  would  sell  him  to  the  first  Eng- 
lish Ship  which  put  in  there.  These  Menaces  made 
King  Dick  something  fearful  at  first;  but  being 
buoy'd  up  by  several  of  the  Englishmen  that  were 
there,  he  still  refused  his  Demands,  and  boldly  sent 
word,  that  he  would  not  give  him  the  Trouble  to  come 
quite  to  his  Home,  but  that  he  would  certainly  meet 
him  half  way.  This  Answer  so  much  inrag'd  Plan- 
tain, that  he  called  his  chief  Officers  together  to  con- 
sult what  he  should  do;  tho',  let  their  Advice  be  what 
it  would,  he  always  followed  his  own  Inclination. 
His  chief  General  was  a  Fellow  they  called  Molatto 
Tom,  who  pretended  to  be  the  Son  of  Capt.  Avery; 
which  might  probably  be  true,  for  the  Man  was  near 
40  Years  of  Age  when  we  were  there.  This  Man 
being  born  on  the  Island  of  Madagascar,  and  of  Eng- 
lish Blood,  Plantain  put  must  Confidence  in  him,  and 
intrusted  him  to  raise  Men  for  his  Service;  he  fetch'd 
over  from  St.  Mary's  Island  about  a  thousand  Men, 
which  stood  by  Plantain  the  best  of  any,  and  would 
not  flinch  from  him. 

BUT  Plantain  was  like  to  have  been  trick'd  by 
King  Kelly  of  Mannagore,  who  brought  1000  Men 
with  him,  and  agreed  for  a  certain  Sum  of  Money  to 
fight  for  him,  which  Plantain  very  willingly  imbraced, 
and  treated  him  as  he  did  the  rest  of  his  Brother 
Kings.  But  Kelly  led  off  his  Men,  and  retreated  just 
before  the  Battle,  being  afraid,  that  should  he  assist 
Plantain,    it    might    cause    perpetual    Wars    between 


152  GRKAT  PIRATE  STORIES 

Kin^  Dick-  and  him.  By  this  time  there  were  four 
or  live  other  Kin^s  come  to  his  Assistance,  who  re- 
senting many  injuries  they  had  received  from  Kin^ 
Dick,  were  resolved  to  demolish  him  if  possible: 
But  they  found  a  hard  Piece  of  work  of  it.  For 
tho'  Plantain  had  great  Store  of  Riches,  he  could  not 
have  a  fresh  Supply  when  that  was  laid  out.  Plan- 
tain entertained  his  Brother  Kings  in  a  grand  Man- 
ner, and  he  caused  a  whole  Bullock  to  be  roasted 
for  their  Entertainment.  As  to  Liquor  he  let  them 
have  but  little,  tho'  they  covet  it  very  much,  and  will 
drink  any  manner  of  spirituous  Liquors,  till  it  even 
takes  away  their  Breath;  when  they  are  drunk,  they 
love  to  sleep  In  the  Sun.  The  Natives  of  Madagas- 
car are  very  deceitful,  on  which  account  Plantain  in- 
trusted very  few  of  them  with  Fire-Arms.  Perhaps 
he  would  distribute  about  20  or  30  Muskets  amongst 
1000  Men,  which  were  put  only  into  the  Hands  of 
those  he  could  depend  upon.  They  load  and  dis- 
charge their  pieces  with  great  Expedition.  I  have 
'seen  a  Negro  at  Massaleage  take  a  Musket  all  to 
pieces,  and  look  well  into  the  Lock  before  he  would 
buy  the  same. 

KING  Dick  being  positively  resolved  to  fight, 
sent  to  St.  Augustine's,  to  desire  Prince  Williajn  to 
come  to  his  Assistance,  promising  to  serve  him  on  any 
other  Occasion.  But  he  thought  proper  to  join  Plan- 
tain, who  put  his  whole  Army  in  Battle-Array,  and 
those  he  entrusted  with  Fire-Arms  were  intermixed 
amongst  those  who  had  Lances.  He  had  English 
Colours  at  the  head  of  his  part  of  the  Army;  the 
Party  commanded  by  the  Dane  had  Danish  Colours; 


IN  THE  GOOD  OLD  DAYS  153 

and  Adair  the  Scot  had  St.  Andrew's  Colours.  Plan- 
tain ordered  the  Scotsman  should  command  on  the 
Right,  and  the  Dane  on  the  Left;  having  intermixed 
several  Englishmen  amongst  the  Negroes,  to  keep 
them  up  in  their  firing,  and  not  to  suffer  any  of  them 
to  lie  down.  The  Negro  Chiefs  take  what  Money 
their  Men  have,  and  compel  them  to  fight:  They 
seldom  want  Provisions;  for  Potatoes  grow  wild,  and 
Cattle  are  plenty  without  Proprietors,  except  that  they 
keep  a  few  Cows  for  their  own  milking.  When  they 
were  on  their  March  from  Ranter-Bay  to  Massaleage, 
King  Dick  was  as  good  as  his  Word,  met  them  half 
way,  and  attack'd  them;  but  after  a  smart  Engage- 
ment Plantain  put  him  to  the  Rout,  took  some  of  the 
Englishmen  who  had  persuaded  King  Dick  not  to 
comply  with  his  Demand,  and  drove  the  rest  quite  out 
of  the  Field;  after  which  they  dispersed,  and  shifted 
for  themselves  as  well  as  they  could.  As  for  the  Eng- 
lishmen he  had  taken,  he  ordered  a  great  Fire  to 
be  kept  burning  all  Night,  and  the  hot  Coals  to 
be  scattered  about,  and  made  them  run  to  and  fro' 
barefooted  upon  them,  and  ordered  the  Negroes 
to  throw  Lances  at  them,  till  by  these  Tortures  they 
expired. 

AFTER  this  Success,  he  resolved  to  be  revenged 
on  King  Kelly,  who  had  deserted  him,  and  had  been 
join'd  by  Part  of  King  Dick's  scattered  Forces.  To 
this  end,  he  put  himself  on  his  March  with  his  Forces, 
and  came  up  with  Kelly;  on  which  ensued  a  smart 
Encounter,  which  lasted  a  whole  Day,  each  Party 
being  supported  by  the  English,  some  of  whom  were 
on  one  side,  some  on  the  other.     Plantain  maintain- 


154  GREAT  PI  RATI-:  STORIES 

Ing  his  Ground  with  great  Resolution,  the  other  Party 
desired  a  Parley,  hut  was  refused,  and  they  continued 
the  right  till  it  was  so  very  dark,  that  they  were 
ohligcd  to  give  over.  They  had  a  great  Number  of 
Men  kill'd  and  wounded  on  both  sides,  but  they  kept 
a  very  good  Guard,  resolving  to  renew  the  light  in 
the  Morning;  and  in  the  mean  time  Plantain  en- 
couraged his  Men,  by  distributing  some  Brandy 
among  'em.  Kelly  and  King  Dick  seemed  resolved  to 
defend  themselves  to  the  utmost  of  their  power;  but 
early  in  the  Morning  Plantains  Men  attack'd  them 
with  fresh  Vigour,  put  them  to  the  Rout,  and  took 
many  of  them  Prisoners;  among  whom  were  John 
Darby  of  the  Town  of  Chester,  and  William  Mills 
of  Gosport,  near  Portsmouth;  who  were  after  tor- 
tur'd  to  Death  in  a  most  cruel  and  inhuman  manner. 
Capt.  England  was  now  in  great  Distress,  and  could 
not  well  tell  how  to  live;  but  coming  to  Prince  IVilliam 
of  St.  Augustine's  Bay,  he  there  met  with  seven  or 
eight  of  his  old  Ship-mates,  who  supported  him  for 
some  time,  and  Prince  JVilliam  resolving  to  come  down 
to  Plantain's  Assistance,  they  agreed  to  accompany 
him, 

PLANTAIN,  to  make  the  most  he  could  of 
his  Victory,  pursued  the  Enemy  over  to  the  Town  of 
Massaleage;  but  found  a  stronger  Resistance  there, 
than  he  Imagin'd;  for  he  could  not  force  the  Town, 
the  Enemy  firing  from  Houses,  &c.  which  obliged  him 
to  retreat.  This  so  enraged  Plantain,  that  he  re- 
solved to  cut  the  two  Kings  of  Massaleage  and  Man- 
nagore  to  pieces,  or  put  them  them  to  the  most  cruel 
Deaths  whenever  he  had  them  in  his  Power. 


IN  THE  GOOD  OLD  DAYS  155 

THE  Europeans  who  were  dispersed  about  the 
Island,  came  soon  to  hear  of  these  Disturbances;  and 
some  of  them  propos'd  to  attempt  the  taking  of  Plan- 
tain's Castle;  but  the  Place  being  guarded  by  Cannon, 
and  a  River  very  near  the  Place,  the  Design  was  laid 
aside. 

I  observed,  at  the  time  that  the  Salisbury  lay  at  St. 
Mary^s  Island,  the  first  Morning  we  were  there,  some 
hundreds  of  Canoos  go  from  thence  to  Ranter-Bay; 
but  who  they  had  on  board  we  could  not  be  sure,  tho' 
some  supposed  they  were  full  of  White  Men :  But 
the  Account  we  had  of  all  the  White  Men  there,  both 
Dutch  and  English,  was  not  near  the  Number  there 
seem'd  to  be.  It  was  more  likely  that  these  Canoos 
conveyed  away  the  Treasure  which  Plantain,  Adair, 
and  the  Dane  had  concealed  there,  for  fear  of  its 
being  discover'd.  At  that  time  they  were  on  the 
island  of  St.  Mary,  it  being  a  Place  they  frequented 
for  Recreation  or  Pleasure,  about  ten  or  twelve  Miles 
distant  from  Ranter-Bay.  The  Night  we  lay  there, 
we  were  very  watchful,  keeping  our  People  constantly 
from  the  Poop,  calling  to  them  on  the  Fore-castle,  for 
fear  the  Natives  in  their  Canoos  should,  conducted 
by  the  Pyrates,  make  an  Attempt  to  surprize  us.  But 
they  were  more  frighted  at  the  sight  of  us,  than  what 
we  imagined,  as  we  were  afterwards  informed.  A 
Man  came  on  board  the  Shoreham  at  St.  Augustine^s 
Bay,  who  was  a  Gun-stock  Maker,  and  had  been 
amongst  the  Pyrates.  The  Account  he  gave  of  him- 
self was,  that  he  shipp'd  himself  Armourer  of  a  Ship 
which  sailed  from  London,  but  belong'd  to  Bristol,  on 
a  Voyage  to  Madagascar,  in  order  to  procure  Slaves. 


156  r.RF.AT  PIRATE  STORIES 

This   Man    (whose   Name  was    Thomas  Lloyd,  who 

formerly  lived  in  tlic  Minories, )  said  he  was  left  with 
six  more  of  their  Men  on  the  Ishind,  and  had  suffered 
very  much  by  a  petty  IVince  called  King  Caleb;  that 
had  It  not  been  for  Prince  fVilliam,  they  should  have 
been  murder'tl.  lliat  when  the  Pyrates  were  there, 
that  Prince  would  not  let  them  go  out  of  his  House; 
for  he  told  tliem,  that  the  Natives  were  Rogues,  and 
that  he  was  resolved  to  preserve  them,  two  of  whom, 
however,  soon  after  died.  That  these  Pyrates  lived 
in  a  most  wicked  profligate  manner,  and  would  often 
ramble  from  Place  to  Place,  and  sometimes  have  the 
Misfortune  of  meeting  some  of  the  Natives,  who 
would  put  them  to  lingring  Deaths,  by  tying  their 
Arms  to  a  Tree,  and  putting  lighted  Matches  between 
their  F^ingers;  that  they  served  two  of  his  Ship-Mates 
in  the  like  manner,  and  would  stand  and  laugh  at 
them  during  the  time  of  their  Agonies.  This  I  think 
was  a  just  Retaliation  to  the  Pyrates  for  the  inhuman 
Barbarities  they  are  guilty  of. 

THE  Natives  here  are  very  deceitful,  seldom  true 
to  their  Promises,  and  no  longer  your  Friends,  than 
you  keep  feeding  them  with  such  Presents  as  they 
want.  In  their  way  of  contracting  Friendship  with 
each  other,  or  any  Stranger  with  whom  they  have  a 
mind  to  hold  a  Correspondence,  'tis  their  Custom  to 
come  down  to  the  Sea-side,  and  drink  the  Salt-water 
together,  and  to  swear  by  the  same  their  faithful  In- 
tention to  each  other.  This  they  are  very  sure  to 
keep,  if  such  an  Agreement  Is  entered  Into  by  any 
Number  of  them:  For  they  Inflict  a  very  severe 
Punishment  on  those  who  any  ways  Infringe  it.     Plan- 


IN  THE  GOOD  OLD  DAYS  157 

tain  had  bound  most  of  his  Allies  under  this  sacred 
Oath  of  Fidehty,  which  King  Kelly  had  also  taken. 

THE  Wars  between  Plantain  and  these  petty 
Princes  were  carried  on  for  near  two  Years;  when 
Plantain  having  got  the  better  of  them,  put  several 
of  his  Enemies  to  Death  in  a  most  barbarous  manner. 
As  to  King  Kelly,  he  escaped  Plantain^s  Fury  as  yet, 
and  fled  for  Port  Dolphin,  where  his  Brother  was  a 
King;  but  Plantain  sent  over  to  him,  and  forbid  him  to 
harbour  him,  for  if  he  did,  he  would  certainly  destroy 
his  whole  Dominions,  as  he  had  done  those  of  Massa- 
leage  and  Mannagore.  But  Kelly's  Brother  boldly 
defy'd  him,  and  sent  him  baclc  a  very  resolute  Answer, 
resolving  to  defend  his  Brother's  Cause.  Kelly  was  a 
bold  and  undaunted  Man,  and  had  on  several  Occa- 
sions shew'd  his  Courage. 

KING  Dick,  and  all  that  belong'd  to  him,  were 
taken  by  Plantain;  however  the  Lady  on  whose  ac- 
count these  Wars  were  begun,  prov'd  to  be  with  Child 
by  one  of  the  Englishmen  which  Plantain  had  mur- 
der'd.  This  so  much  inrag'd  him,  that  he  ordered 
King  Dick  to  be  put  to  the  same  cruel  Death  as  the 
English  and  Dutchmen  had  suffered.  He  now  was 
resolved  to  march  for  Port  Dolphin,  as  much  to  re- 
plenish his  Stores,  as  to  be  revenged  on  King  Kelly; 
who,  conjointly  with  the  Dane,  had  conceal'd  a  great 
Hoard  of  Jewels  and  Money  at  Port  Dolphin,  in  an 
unfrequented  Wood,  which  he  was  inform'd  of  by  an 
Intimate  of  theirs,  who  alone  they  had  intrusted  with 
this  Secret,  and  who  had  deserted  Plantain. 

W  H  E  N  I  proceeded  from  Chimnah  to  Broderah, 
after  I  had  been  taken  by  the  Sangareens,  there  came 


158  GREAT  PIRATE  STORIES 

to  Guzurat  two  Dutchmen  and  three  Portugese;  one 
of  the  PortiKjcsr  was  named  /hithony  de  Silvestro,  and 
had  been  brought  up  by  Capt.  W^esterhy  of  Poplar^ 
talked  very  ^ood  I'luylish.  I  hey  all  came  from  Surat 
to  take  on  in  the  Moors  Service,  as  many  of  the 
English  do.  This  Anthony  told  me,  he  had  been 
amongst  the  Pyrates,  and  that  he  belong'd  to  one  of 
the  Sloops  in  Vircf'inia,  when  Blackhcard  was  taken. 
He  informed  me,  that  if  it  should  be  my  lot  ever  to  go 
to  York  River  or  Maryland,  near  an  Island  called 
Mulberry  Island,  provided  we  went  on  shore  at  the 
Watering  Place,  where  the  Shipping  used  most  com- 
monly to  ride,  that  there  the  Pyrates  had  buried  con- 
siderable Sums  of  Money  in  great  Chests,  well 
clamp'd  with  Iron  Plates.  As  to  my  part,  I  never 
was  that  way,  nor -much  acquainted  with  any  that  ever 
used  those  Parts:  But  I  have  made  Enquiry,  and  am 
inform'd  there  is  such  a  Place  as  Mulberry  Island. 
If  any  Person,  who  uses  those  Parts,  should  think  it 
worth  while  to  dig  a  little  way  at  the  upper  End  of  a 
small  sandy  Cove,  where  it  is  convenient  to  land,  he 
would  soon  find  whether  the  Information  I  had  was 
well-grounded.  Fronting  the  Landing-place  are  five 
Trees,  amongst  which,  he  said,  the  Money  was  hid. 
I  cannot  warrant  the  Truth  of  this  Account;  but  if  I 
was  ever  to  go  there,  I  would  by  some  means  or  other 
satisfy  myself,  as  it  could  not  be  a  great  deal  out  of 
my  way.  If  any  body  should  obtain  any  Benefit  by 
this  Account,  if  It  please  God  they  ever  come  to  Eng- 
land, 'tis  hoped  they  will  remember  the  Author  for 
his  Information. 

AFTER  Plantain  had  put  King  Dick  to  death, 


IN  THE  GOOD  OLD  DAYS  159 

and  those  Dutch  and  English  who  had  fought  against 
him,  he  march'd  to  the  King  of  Massaleages  Domin- 
ions, and  found  a  great  deal  of  Treasure  at  King 
Dick's  House,  and  great  Store  of  such  Sort  of  Grain 
as  the  Island  produc'd,  which  Plantain  order'd  to  be 
pack'd  up,  and  sent  to  Ranter-Bay.  As  to  the  Inhabi- 
tants, he  sent  great  Numbers  of  them  down  to  Ranter- 
Bay,  made  Slaves  of  them,  and  caused  them  to  form 
several  Plantations  of  Sugar-Canes,  and  after  brought 
the  same  to  great  Perfection.  So  soon  as  he  had 
cleared  the  Town,  he  caused  his  Men  to  set  the  same 
on  fire,  and  then  went  to  King  Kelly's,  chief  Town, 
and  did  the  same  there.  He  found  but  little  Subsis- 
tence in  all  these  Dominions ;  for  Kelly  was  a  subtle, 
sly  Fellow  who  took  care  of  himself;  and  so  soon  as  he 
found  that  Plantain  was  on  the  victorious  Side,  he  fled 
in  the  Night  from  his  Associates,  came  to  Manna- 
gora,  secured  all  he  had  of  any  Value  there,  and  then 
fled  to  Port  Dolphin  to  his  Brother,  where  he  shel- 
tered himself  for  a  time,  till  Plantain  came  again  with 
an  Army,  and  totally  demolished  both  one  and  the 
other;  for  he  now  tyranniz'd  over  the  Natives  all 
over  the  Island.  After  he  had  burnt  King  Kelly's 
Town,  he  came  down  to  Ranter-Bay,  bringing  the 
Lady  before  mention'd  with  him,  which  he  accounted 
the  chief  Trophy  of  his  Victory;  who  tho'  she  was 
with  Child,  he  accepted  of,  and  was  much  enamoured 
with  her.  This  Woman  having  chiefly  been  brought 
up  under  the  Care  of  her  Father,  who  was  by  all 
Accounts  a  very  honest  Man,  and  was  by  him  actually 
left  behind  at  that  Place ;  he  had  taught  her  the  Creed, 
the  Lord's  Prayer,  and  the  ten  Commandments,  and 


160  GREAT  PIRATE  STORIES 

gave  her  an  Insight  into  the  Christian  Faith;  but  not 
havinjj^  the  Conveniency  of  Books,  he  could  not  so 
fully  instruct  her  as  he  ilesired.  By  this  Wife,  Plan- 
tain has  had  several  Children.  When  he  brought  her 
to  Ranter-Bay,  he  made  a  grand  I''ntertainment,  and 
gave  her  the  whole  Government  of  his  Household  Af- 
fairs, discharging  several  of  his  other  Women.  This 
Eleanor  Brown  would  often  talk  to  him  concerning 
Religion,  ask  him  after  God;  and  according  to  her 
Father's  Directions,  say  her  Prayers  Night  and  Morn- 
ing: On  which  account,  Plantain  used  to  say  he  had 
now  got  a  religious  Wife;  but  yet  took  what  she  said 
in  good  part.  He  cloath'd  her  with  the  richest  Jewels 
and  Diamonds  he  had,  and  gave  her  twenty  Girl 
Slaves  to  wait  on  her.  It  was  this  Woman  that  Mr. 
Christopher  Lisle  would  have  been  great  with;  for 
which  Attempt  Plantain  shot  him  dead  on  the  Spot. 
This  Lisle  was  the  fourth  Mate  to  Capt.  Benson  of 
the  Dazvson  East-India  Man;  for  I  was  sent  on  board 
them  off  Mount  Dilley,  where  he  and  the  Captain 
had  some  very  high  Disputes,  on  which  the  Captain 
had  confin'd  him  in  Irons  for  a  Mutiny;  which  Lisle, 
together  with  an  Ensign  of  the  Guards  design'd  for 
Bombay,  had  bred  on  board  the  said  Ship.  After  I 
had  acquainted  Capt.  Cockburn  of  what  Capt.  Benson 
alleged  against  them,  the  Captain  sent  me  to  fetch 
them  on  board  of  us.  The  Commodore  was  inform'd 
of  this  Affair,  and  he  ordered  that  Mr.  Christopher 
Lisle  should  walk  the  Quarter-Deck  on  board  of  the 
Salisbury  (which  was  the  Ship  I  then  belong'd  to)  and 
do  the  Duty  of  a  Midshipman.  When  we  arrived  at 
Charnock  Point,  Mr.  Lisle  run  away  from  us  the  sec- 


IN  THE  GOOD  OLD  DAYS  161 

ond  or  third  ti-me  of  his  going  on  shore.  At  his  first 
coming  on  board  Capt.  Cockhurn,  (who  always  had  a 
Regard  for  what  Station  a  Man  had  serv'd  in)  he 
desired,  as  he  was  a  Stranger  on  board,  that  I  would 
let  him  mess  with  me :  which  I  did,  with  the  Captain's 
Approbation.  But  soon  saw  he  was  not  only  a  quar- 
relsome Fellow,  but  one  that  was  malicious,  and  sloth- 
ful in  performing  his  Duty.  He  said  he  was  the 
Nephew  of  Capt.  Lisle  of  Stepney,  who  formerly  com- 
manded the  Berwick  Man  of  War.  I  had  his  Note 
for  Three  Pound  ten  Shillings  for  Conveniencies  he 
had  of  me;  for  tho'  he  was  an  Officer  on  board  the 
Dawson,  he  was  very  bare,  and  had  made  away  with 
most  of  his  Effects.  The  Captain  alledged,  that  he 
had  broke  open  several  Chests  of  Liquor  in  the  Hold, 
and  had  converted  it  to  his  own  Use;  which  was  after- 
wards sufficiently  prov'd  against  him.  If  he  has  any 
Friends  now  living,  who  have  never  heard  of  his  End, 
this  Account  will  be  a  Confirmation  to  them  of  his 
fatal  Destiny,  being  killed  by  the  Hand  of  a  pyratical 
King,  as  mentioned  before.  They  may  find  him  stand 
entered  for  his  Majesty's  Ship  the  Salisbury  in  the 
Month  of  February  i']2i—2,  and  run  at  Charnock 
Point  on  the  Island  of  Madagascar  in  the  April  fol- 
lowing 1722. 

NOW  Plantain  had  taken  a  considerable  time  to 
Irecover  from  his  Fatigue,  and  recruit  his  Forces, 
which  at  last  he  did,  tho'  not  with  the  desired  Expedi- 
tion: And  after  he  had  made  sure  of  the  Treasure 
he  and  the  Dane  had  concealed,  they  got  all  things  in 
readiness,  and  went  over  to  St.  Mary'^s  Island  to  Capt. 
Avery''s  Castle,  and  took  from  thence  some  Materials 


162  GREAT  PIRATK  STORIES 

which  they  wanted,  and  bcin^  join'd  by  his  Allies,  he 
gave  Order  for  his  whole  Forces  to  march  for  Port 
Dolphin,  but  they  were  very  mucfi  fatij^u'd  in  their 
way.  Here  young  Capt.  Avery,  or  Molatlo  Tom, 
as  they  generally  call'd  him,  was  of  great  Service  to 
him,  and  kept  a  regular  Discipline  amongst  the  Army. 
This  Molalto  Tom  was  one  that  was  so  much  fear'd 
amongst  them,  that  at  the  very  sight  of  him,  they 
would  seem  to  tremble.  They  often  would  have 
made  him  a  King,  but  he  never  would  take  that  litle 
upon  him.  He  was  a  Man  of  tall  Stature,  very  clean- 
limb'd,  and  of  a  pleasant  Countenance.  He  had 
Hair  on  his  Head,  and  no  Wool;  which  I  have  often 
admired  at,  having  seen  several  of  this  Mongrel 
Breed,  who  have  all  had  Wool  on  their  Heads.  He 
had  long  black  Hair  like  the  Malabar  or  Bengal  In- 
dians; which  made  me  think  he  might  be  the  Son  of 
Capt.  Avery,  got  on  some  of  the  Indian  Women  he 
took  in  the  Moors  Ship,  which  had  the  Grand  Mogul's 
Daughter  on  board.  This  is  very  probable;  for  he 
said  he  could  not  remember  his  Mother,  but  that  he 
suck'd  a  black  Madagascar  Woman,  which  for  some 
Years  he  took  for  his  Mother,  till  he  was  told  his 
Mother  died  when  he  was  an  Infant. 

DURING  the  Season  that  Plantain  was  at  his 
Castle,  the  time  was  spent  in  great  Mirth  and  Enter- 
tainments amongst  the  English  that  were  under  his 
Protection.  Several  new  Songs  were  made  in  token 
of  his  Victories,  and  at  the  End  of  almost  every  Verse 
was  pronounced,  Plaintain  King  of  Ranter-Bay;  which 
he  seem'd  mightily  pleas'd  with,  as  well  as  with  Dances 
perform'd  by  great  Bodies  of  the  Natives.     After  he 


IN  THE  GOOD  OLD  DAYS 


163 


had  destroy'd  King  Dick,  and  King  Kelley,  he  estab- 
lished two  Kings  in  their  stead,  leaving  them  to  re- 
build and  make  good  what  he  had  demolished.  They 
were  also  tributary  to  him,  and  sent  him  in  every 
Month,  a  certain  number  of  Cattle  of  all  sorts  that 
the  Places  afforded;  and  they  were  to  keep  the  Lands 
in  good  order,  and  to  pay  him  Tribute  for  all  sorts 
of  Grain,  Sugar-Canes,  ^c. 

WHEN  we  were  at  Mannagore,  we  had  the 
Opportunity  of  seeing  several  Entertainments  by  the 
Women  of  that  Place,  who  came  down  and  offered 
their  Service  to  any  that  thought  proper  to  accept  of 
them.  They  gathered  every  Night  one  Hundred  or 
more  of  them  together,  and  formed  a  sort  of  hollow 
Square,  where  they  used  to  sing  and  dance  in  their 
way.  Amongst  all  these  Women,  they  never  have 
above  two  or  three  Men  who  dance  with  them  and 
play  on  the  Musick  to  them.  This  Island  of  Mada- 
gascar is  very  safe  for  Travellers,  there  being  no  man- 
ner of  wild  Beasts  there  to  annoy  them. 


RAVENAU— GENTLEMAN- 
ADVENTURER 

[From  The  Moiiarchs  of  the  Main  by  G.  W. 
Thornbury] 

ON  the  ist  of  January,  1687,  leaving  their  ships 
in   the  hay  of  Caldaira,   the   Buccaneers  cm- 
barked  2(X)  men  in  canoes  and  crossed  to  the 
island  of  La  Cagna. 

Their  treacherous  guide,  under  the  pretence  of  hid- 
ing them  in  a  covert,  led  them  into  a  marsh,  where 
tlie  mud,  in  the  soundest  places,  rose  above  their 
middles;  five  men  sinking  up  to  their  chins  were 
dragged  out  with  ropes  tied  to  the  mangrove  branches. 
The  men,  anxious  for  escape,  lifted  up  their  guide  to 
the  top  of  a  tree,  to  discover  by  the  moonlight  where 
sound  land  commenced.  But  he,  once  at  liberty, 
skipped  like  a  monkey  from  tree  to  tree,  railing  at 
them  and  deriding  their  helplessness.  They  spent  the 
whole  night  in  marching  a  hundred  paces  round  this 
marsh,  and  groped  out  at  daybreak,  bedaubed  from 
head  to  toe,  with  their  fire-arms  loaded  with  mud. 
"When  we  were  in  a  condition,"  says  Lussan,  "to  re- 
flect a  little  upon  ourselves,  and  that  we  saw  200  men 
in  the  same  habit,  all  so  curiously  equipped,  there  was 
not  one  of  us  who  forgot  not  his  toil  to  laugh  at  the 
posture  he  found  both  himself  and  the  rest  in."  In- 
veighing against  their  guide,   they  returned  to  their 

164 


RAVENAU  165 

canoes,  and  proceeded  two  leagues  up  a  river  to  an 
entrenchment,  where  they  found  the  remains  of  two 
vessels  the  Spaniards  had  some  time  before  burnt, 
at  the  approach  of  Betssharp,  an  Enghsh  free-booter. 
Guided  by  the  barking  of  dogs,  they  surprised  the 
borough  of  Santa  Catalina,  and,  mounting  sixty  men 
on  horses,  entered  Nicoya  and  drove  out  the  enemy, 
carrying  off  the  governor's  plate  and  movables. 
They  found  here  some  letters  from  the  President  of 
Panama,  describing  the  doings  of  "these  new  Turks," 
how  they  had  landed  at  places  where  the  sea  was  so 
high  that  no  sentinels  had  been  placed,  and  passed 
through  the  woods  like  wild  beasts.  The  letters 
stated  how  much  the  Spaniards  had  been  astonished 
by  the  Buccaneer  mode  of  attack — "briskly  falling  on, 
singing,  dancing,  as  if  they  had  been  going  to  a  feast;" 
they  were  described  also  as  "those  enemies  of  God 
and  His  saints  who  profane  His  churches  and  destroy 
His  servants."  In  one  battle,  it  says,  being  blocked 
up,  "they  became  as  mad  dogs.  Whenever  these  irre- 
ligious men  set  their  feet  on  land  they  always  win  the 
victory." 

Landing  at  Caldaira  the  sentinels  set  fire  to  the 
savannahs,  through  which  they  marched  to  Lesparso, 
and  towards  Carthage,  but  retired,  hearing  of  400 
men  and  an  entrenchment.  Hiding  five  men  in  the 
grass,  they  captured  a  Spanish  trooper,  who  had  re- 
viled them,  and  putting  him  to  the  rack,  laughing  at 
his  grimaces  of  pain,  heard  that  Grogniet  was  in  the 
neighbourhood,  and  soon  after  they  heard  cannons 
fired  off,  and  were  joined  by  him  in  three  canoes. 

He    now    told    them    his    adventures    at    Napalla. 


166  GREAT  PIRATE  STORIES 

Three  sailors,  corrupted  l)y  the  Spaniards,  who  had 
taken  them  prisoners,  persuaded  him  on  his  return  to 
visit  a  ^old  mine,  fourteen  leagues  from  the  sea-shore. 
They  luckily  got  there  before  the  ambuscade,  and  took 
some  prisoners   and   a    few   pf)unds   of  gold,   but   450 
lbs.   weight   had  been   removed   an   hour  before.     At 
their  return  they  found  the  traitors  and  prisoners  all 
escaped.      He   then   landed    at   Puebla    Vieja    and   at- 
tacked an  ambuscade  and  entrenchment  of  300  men. 
Half   of    these    fled,   half   were   made    prisoners,    and 
their  three  colours  taken,  the  free-booters  losing  only 
three  men.      P'ighty-five  of  his  men  tlien  determined 
to  visit  California,  and  he  and  his  sixty  men  to  return 
to  Panama.      Grogniet  now  consented  to  join  in  the 
French   expedition,    and,   after   taking   Queaquilla,    to 
force   a   way  to   the   North   Sea.     They   landed   and 
burnt  Nicoya  a  third  time,  and  Lussan  treats  us  here 
with  an  amusing  piece  of  Buccaneer  superstition.      He 
says,   "though  we  were  forced  to  chastise  the  Span- 
iards in  this  manner,  we  showed  ourselves  very  exact 
in   the   preservation   of  the   churches,    into   which   we 
carried  the  pictures  and  images  of  the   saints  which 
we  found  in  particular  houses,  that  they  might  not  be 
exposed  to  the  rage  and  burning  of  the  English,  who 
were  not  much  pleased  with  these  sorts  of  precautions; 
they  being  men  that  took  more  satisfaction  and  pleas- 
ure to  see  one  church  burnt  than   all  the   houses  of 
America  put  together.      But  as  it  was  our  turn  now 
to  be  the  stronger  party,  they  durst  do  nothing  that 
derogated    from   that   respect   we   bore   to    all   those 
things."      On   their   return   the   French   had   to   force 
their  way  through  burning  savannahs,  but  got  safe  to 


RAVENAU  167 

their  ships,  putting  next  day  forty  prisoners  on  shore 
who  were  too  chargeable  to  keep. 

A  new  division  now  arose  between  the  English  and 
French,  and  the  former  insisting  on  the  first  prize 
taken,  the  two  parties  again  separated,  Grogniet  stay- 
ing with  the  former:  making  in  all  142  men,  Rave- 
nau's  party  being  162,  in  a  frigate  and  long  bark. 
Both  vessels  now  tried  to  outsail  each  other  and  reach 
Queaquilla  first,  but  the  French,  soon  finding  the  Eng- 
lish beat  them  in  speed,  resolved  to  accompany  them, 
for  they  had  so  little  food  as  to  be  obliged  to  eat  only 
once  in  every  forty-eight  hours,  and  but  for  rain  water 
would  have  died  of  thirst.  Off  Santa  Helena,  they 
gave  chase  to  a  ship,  and  found  it  to  be  a  prize  laden 
with  wine  and  corn,  lately  taken  by  Captain  David's 
men,  for  they  had  been  making  descents  along  the 
coast,  at  Pisca  had  beaten  off  800  men  from  Lima,  and 
had  also  taken  a  great  many  ships,  which  they  pil- 
laged and  let  go.  Having  got  to  the  value  of  5000 
pieces  of  eight  a  man,  they  sailed  for  Magellan,  and 
on  the  way  many  of  the  men  lost  all  they  had  by 
gaming.  Those  who  had  won  joined  Wilnett,  and  re- 
turned to  the  North  Sea ;  but  the  losers,  sixty  English 
and  twenty  French,  joined  David,  determined  to  re- 
main and  get  more  spoil  in  the  South.  Henry  and 
Samms  had  gone  to  the  East  Indies.  The  eight  men 
of  David's  crew  who  commanded  the  prize  joined 
them  against  Queaquilla.  Furling  their  sails  to  pre- 
vent being  seen,  they  anchored  off  the  White  Cape, 
and  at  ten  in  the  morning  embarked  260  men  in  their 
canoes.  On  the  15th  they  reached,  at  sunset,  the 
rocky  island  of  Santa  Clara,  and  on  the  i6th  rested 


ir,«  c;ri:at  firatf,  stories 

all  day,  weak  fr(jm  loii^  fastlnj^,  in  the  Island  oi  La 
Puna,  escaping  any  detection  from  the  forty  sentinels. 
The  17th  they  spent  on  the  same  island,  and  arranged 
the  attack.  Captain  Picard  and  fifty  men  led  the 
forlorn  hope,  another  captain  and  eighty  grenadiers 
formed  a  reserve.  Captain  Grogniet  and  the  main 
hody  were  to  make  themselves  masters  of  the  town 
and  port,  and  the  I'^nglish  captain,  George  Hewit, 
with  fifty  men,  were  to  attack  the  smaller  fort;  while 
1000  pieces  of  eight  were  promised  to  the  first  en- 
sign who  should  plant  the  colours  on  the  great  fort. 
They  left  their  covert  in  the  evening,  and  hoped  to 
reach  the  town  hy  dawn,  but  only  having  three  hours 
of  favourable  tide,  had  to  remain  all  day  at  the  island, 
and  at  night  rowing  out,  were  overtaken  after  all  by 
the  light,  when  a  sentinel  seeing  them,  set  a  cottage 
on  fire  and  alarmed  his  companions.  Marching  across 
a  wood  to  the  fire,  they  killed  two  of  the  Spaniards 
and  captured  a  boy.  Remaining  in  covert  all  day, 
they  thought  themselves  undiscovered,  because  the 
town  had  not  answered  the  fire  signal,  and  at  night 
they  rowed  up  the  river,  the  rapid  current  carrying 
them  four  leagues  in  two  hours.  All  the  19th  they 
spent  under  cover  of  an  island  in  the  river,  and  at 
night  went  up  with  the  current,  not  rowing  for  fear  of 
alarming  the  sentinels.  They  attempted  in  vain  to 
put  in  beyond  the  town,  on  the  side  least  guarded,  but 
the  tide  going  out  forced  them  to  land  two  hours  be- 
fore day,  within  cannon  shot  of  the  town,  where  they 
could  discern  the  lights  burning,  for  the  Spaniards 
burnt  lamps  all  night.  They  landed  in  a  marshy 
place,  and  had  to  cut  a  path  through  the  bushes  with 


RAVENAU  169 

their  sabres.  They  soon  met  with  a  sentinel,  and 
were  discovered  by  one  of  the  men  left  to  guard  the 
canoes  striking  a  light,  against  orders,  to  light  his 
pipe.  The  sentinel,  knowing  that  this  was  punish- 
able by  death  among  his  countrymen,  suspected  ene- 
mies and  discharged  a  paterero,  which  the  fort  an- 
swered by  a  discharge  of  all  their  cannon.  The  Buc- 
caneers, overtaken  by  a  storm,  entered  a  large  house 
near  to  light  the  matches  of  their  grenades  and  wait 
for  day,  the  enemy  firing  incessantly  in  defiance.  On 
the  20th,  at  daybreak,  they  marched  out  in  order,  with 
drums  beating  and  colours,  and  found  700  men  wait- 
ing for  them  behind  a  wall,  four  feet  and  a-half  high, 
and  a  ditch.  Killing  many  of  the  Buccaneers  at  the 
onset,  the  enemy  ventured  to  sally  out,  sword  in  hand, 
and  were  at  once  put  to  flight.  In  spite  of  the  bridge 
being  broken  down,  the  pursuers  crossed  the  ditch, 
and,  getting  to  the  foot  of  the  wall,  threw  in  grenades, 
and  drove  the  enemy  to  their  houses.  Driven  also 
from  this,  they  fled  to  a  redoubt  in  the  Place  d'Armes, 
and  from  thence,  after  an  hour's  fighting,  to  a  third 
fort,  the  largest  of  all.  Here  they  defended  them- 
selves a  long  time,  firing  continually  at  their  enemies, 
who  could  not  see  them  for  the  smoke.  From  these 
palisadoes  they  again  sallied,  and  wounded  several 
Buccaneers  and  took  one  prisoner.  They  at  last  re- 
treated with  great  loss. 

The  Flibustiers,  weary  with  eleven  hours'  fighting, 
and  finding  their  powder  nearly  spent,  grew  desperate; 
but,  redoubling  their  efforts,  with  some  loss  made 
themselves  masters  of  the  place,  having  nine  men 
killed  and  a  dozen  wounded.     Parties  were  then  sent 


170  GREy\l'  IMRATF  STORIES 

out  to  pursue  the  fugitives,  and  a  ^arrisf)n  having  been 
put  in  the  great  fort,  the  Roman  Catholic  part  of  the 
hand  went  to  sing  Tc  Dciim  in  the  great  church. 

Basil  Hall  describes  Cuayacjuil  as  having  on  the 
one  side  a  great  marsh,  and  on  the  other  a  great  river, 
while  the  country,  for  nearly  i or>  miles,  is  a  continued 
level  swamp,  thickly  covered  with  trees.  The  river 
is  broad  and  deep,  but  full  of  shf)als  and  strange  turn- 
ings, the  woods  growing  close  to  the  water's  edge, 
stand  close,  dark,  and  still,  like  two  vast  black  walls; 
wliile  along  the  banks  the  land-breeze  blows  hot,  and 
breathes  death,  decay,  and  putrefaction. 

The  town  was  walled,  and  the  forts  built  on  an  emi- 
nence. The  houses  were  built  of  boards  and  reared 
on  piles,  on  account  of  the  frequent  inundations.  The 
chief  trade  of  the  place  was  cocoa. 

The  Buccaneers  took  700  prisoners,  including  the 
governor  and  his  family.  He  himself  was  wounded, 
as  were  most  of  his  officers,  who  fought  better  than 
all  the  5,000  men  of  the  place.  The  place  was  stored 
with  merchandise,  precious  stones,  silver  plate,  and 
70,000  pieces  of  eight.  Upwards  of  three  millions 
more  had  been  hidden  while  the  fort  was  taking.  As 
soon  as  the  canoes  had  come  up,  they  were  sent  in 
pursuit  of  the  treasure,  but  it  was  too  late.  They 
captured,  however,  22,000  pieces  of  eight,  and  a  ver- 
milion gilt  eagle,  weighing  66  lbs.,  that  had  served 
as  the  tabernacle  for  some  church.  It  was  of  rare 
workmanship,  and  the  eyes  were  formed  of  two  great 
"rocks  of  emeralds."  There  were  fourteen  barks  in 
the  port — the  galleys  they  had  fought  at  Puebla 
Nueva,  and  two  royal  ships  unfinished  on  the  stocks. 


RAVENAU  171 

As  a  ransom  for  all  these  things,  the  governor  prom- 
ised a  million  pieces  of  eight  in  gold,  and  400  sacks 
of  corn,  requiring  the  vicar-general  to  be  released  to 
go  to  Quito  and  procure  it. 

The  women  of  the  town,  who  were  very  pretty, 
had  been  assured  by  their  confessors  that  the  Buc- 
caneers were  monsters  and  cannibals,  and  had  con- 
ceived a  horror  and  aversion  to  them.  "They  could 
not  be  dispossessed  thereof,"  says  Lussan,  "till  they 
came  to  know  us  better.  But  then  I  can  boldly  say 
that  they  entertained  quite  different  sentiments  of  our 
persons,  and  have  given  us  frequent  instances  of  so 
violent  a  passion  as  proceeded  sometimes  even  to  a 
degree  of  folly."  As  a  proof  of  the  calumnies  cir- 
culated against  the  ruthless  conquerors,  Lussan  tells 
us  the  following: — "It  is  not  from  a  chance  story," 
he  continues,  "that  I  came  to  know  the  impressions 
wrought  in  these  women  that  we  were  men  that  would 
eat  them;  for  the  next  day  after  the  taking  of  the 
town,  a  young  gentlewoman  that  waited  upon  the  gov- 
ernor of  the  place,  happened  to  fall  into  my  hands. 
As  I  was  carrying  her  away  to  the  place  where  the  rest 
of  the  prisoners  were  kept,  and  to  that  end  made  her 
walk  before  me,  she  turned  back,  and,  with  tears  in 
her  eyes,  told  me,  in  her  own  language — 'Senor,  pur 
I'amor  di  Dios  ne  mi  como' — that  is,  'Pray,  sir,  for 
the  love  of  God,  do  not  eat  me;'  whereupon  I  asked 
her  who  had  told  her  that  we  were  wont  to  eat  people? 
She  answered,  'The  fathers,'  who  had  also  assured 
them  that  we  had  not  human  shape,  but  that  we  re- 
sembled monkeys. 

On  the  2 1  St,  part  of  the  town  was  accidentally  burnt 


172  GREAT  PIRATK  STORIES 

down  by  some  of  the  men  lighting  a  fire  in  a  house, 
and  leaving  it  unextinguished  when  they  returned  at 
night  to  the  court  of  guard.  Afraid  that  it  would 
reach  the  place  where  they  had  stored  their  powder 
and  nicrchamiisc,  the  hrench  rem(jved  ail  the  plunder 
to  their  vessels,  anti  carried  the  prisoners  to  the  fort; 
but  not  till  all  this  was  done  endeavouring  to  save  the 
town,  a  third  part  of  which  was,  by  this  time,  de- 
stroyed. Afraid  the  Spaniards  might  now  refuse  to 
pay  the  ransom,  they  charged  them  with  the  offence, 
threatening  to  send  some  fifty  prisoners'  heads  if  they 
did  not  pay  them  what  they  had  lost  by  the  fire.  The 
enemy,  surprised  at  this,  attributed  the  incendiarism 
to  traitors,  and  promised  satisfaction.  The  stench  of 
the  900  dead  carcases,  still  lying  unburied  up  and 
down  the  town,  now  producing  a  pestilence,  the  Buc- 
caneers dismounted  and  spiked  the  cannon,  and  carried 
off  the  500  prisoners  to  their  ships,  anchoring  at  Puna. 
Captain  Grognlet  died  of  his  wounds  soon  after  this  re- 
moval. The  Spaniards  obtaining  four  days'  further 
respite,  and  then  still  further  delaying  the  ransom,  the 
adventurers  made  the  prisoners  throw  dice  for  their 
lives,  and  cutting  off  the  heads  of  four,  sent  them  to 
Queaquilla,  threatening  further  deaths.  They  were 
now  joined  by  Captain  David  and  a  prize  he  had  lately 
taken.  He  was  planning  a  descent  on  Paita,  to  obtain 
refreshments  for  some  men  wounded  in  a  fight  with  a 
Spanish  ship,  the  Catalina,  off  Lima.  They  fought  for 
two  days,  David's  men,  being  drunk,  constantly  get- 
ting to  leeward,  and  failing  twenty  times  In  an  attempt 
to  board.  The  Spaniards,  gaining  courage  from  these 
failures,  hoisted  the  bloody  flag;  but  the  third  day. 


RAVENAU  173 

David,  getting  sober,  got  his  tackle  and  rigging  in 
good  order,  got  properly  to  windward,  and  bore  down 
with  determination.  The  enemy  in  terror  ran  ashore, 
and  went  to  pieces  in  two  hours.  Two  men  were 
saved  by  a  canoe,  and  said  that  their  captain  had  had 
his  thigh  shot  off  by  a  cannon  ball.  David's  ship, 
wanting  refitting,  was  employed  to  cruise  in  the  bay  to 
prevent  surprises  from  the  Spaniards.  By  a  letter 
taken  from  a  courier,  they  found  that  the  people  of 
Queaquilla  were  only  endeavouring  to  obtain  time. 

The  Buccaneers  spent  thirty  days  on  the  island  of 
La  Puna,  living  on  the  luxurious  food  brought  from 
Queaquilla,  and  employing  the  prisoners  with  lutes, 
theorbos,  harps,  and  guitars,  to  delight  them  by  per- 
petual concerts  and  serenades.  Lussan  says,  "Some 
of  our  men  grew  very  familiar  with  our  women  pris- 
oners, who,  without  offering  them  any  violence,  were 
not  sparing  of  their  favours,  and  made  appear,  as  I 
have  already  remarked,  that  after  they  came  once  to 
know  us,  they  did  not  retain  all  the  aversion  for  us 
that  had  been  inculcated  into  them  when  we  were 
strangers  unto  them.  All  our  people  were  so 
charmed  with  this  way  of  living  that  they  forgot  their 
past  miseries,  and  thought  not  more  of  danger  from 
the  Spaniards  than  if  they  had  been  in  the  middle  of 
Paris." 

Ravenau  also  treats  us  with  his  own  personal  love 
adventure,  which  we  insert  as  a  curious  illustration  of 
the  vicissitudes  of  a  South  Sea  adventurer's  life. 
"Amongst  the  rest,"  he  says,  "myself  had  one  pretty 
adventure.  Among  the  other  prisoners  we  had  a 
young  gentlewoman,   lately  become   a  widow  of  the 


174  GREAT  PIRATE  STORIES 

treasurer  of  the  town,  who  was  slain  when  it  was 
taken.  Now  this  woman  appeared  so  far  comforted 
for  her  loss,  out  of  an  hard-heartedness  tliey  have  in 
this  country  one  for  another,  that  she  proposed  to  hide 
me  and  herself  in  some  corner  of  the  island  till  our 
people  were  gone,  and  that  then  she  would  bring  me 
to  Qucaquilla  to  marry  her,  that  she  would  procure 
me  her  husband's  office,  and  vest  me  in  his  estate, 
which  was  very  great.  When  I  had  returned  her 
thanks  for  such  obliging  offers,  I  gave  her  to  under- 
stand that  I  was  afraid  her  interest  had  not  the  mas- 
tery over  the  Spaniards'  resentments;  and  that  the 
wounds  they  had  received  from  us  were  yet  too  fresh 
and  green  for  them  easily  to  forget  them.  She  went 
about  to  cure  me  of  my  suspicion,  by  procuring  se- 
cretly, from  the  governor  and  chief  officers,  promises 
under  their  hands  how  kindly  I  should  be  used  by 
them.  I  confess  I  was  not  a  little  perplexed  here- 
with, and  such  pressing  testimonies  of  goodwill  and 
friendship  towards  me  brought  me,  after  a  little  con- 
sultation with  myself,  into  such  a  quandary,  that  I  did 
not  know  which  side  to  close  with ;  nay,  I  felt  myself, 
at  length,  much  inclined  to  close  with  the  offers  made 
me,  and  I  had  two  powerful  reasons  to  induce  me 
thereunto,  one  of  which  was  the  miserable  and  lan- 
guishing life  we  lead  in  those  places,  where  we  were 
in  perpetual  hazard  of  losing  it,  which  I  should  be 
freed  from  by  an  advantageous  offer  of  a  pretty 
woman  and  a  considerable  settlement:  the  other  pro- 
ceeded from  the  despair  I  was  in  of  ever  being  able  to 
return  into  my  own  country,  for  want  of  ships  fit  for 
that  purpose.      But  when  I  began  to  reflect  upon  these 


RAVENAU  175 

things  with  a  little  more  leisure  and  consideration,  and 
that  I  resolved  with  myself  how  little  trust  was  to  be 
given  to  the  promises  and  faith  of  so  perfidious  as  well 
as  vindictive  a  nation  as  the  Spaniards,  and  more  es- 
pecially towards  men  in  our  circumstances,  by  whom 
they  had  been  so  ill-used,  this  second  reflection  carried 
it  against  the  first,  and  even  all  the  advantages  offered 
me  by  this  lady.  But  however  the  matter  was,  I  was 
resolved,  in  spite  of  the  grief  and  tears  of  this  pretty 
woman,  to  prefer  the  continuance  of  my  troubles 
(with  a  ray  of  hope  of  seeing  France  again),  before 
the  perpetual  suspicion  I  should  have  had  of  some 
treachery  designed  against  me.  Thus  I  rejected  her 
proposals,  but  so  as  to  assure  her  I  should  retain, 
even  as  long  as  I  lived,  a  lively  remembrance  of  her 
affections  and  good  inclinations  towards  me." 

After  some  negotiation  with  a  priest,  the  people  of 
Queaquilla  brought  in  twenty-four  sacks  of  meal,  and 
20,000  pieces  of  eight  in  gold.  On  their  refusing 
more  than  22,000  pieces  of  eight  more  for  ransom, 
a  council  was  held  to  decide  upon  putting  all  the  pris- 
oners to  death,  but  at  last,  Ravenau  being  in  the  ma- 
jority, decided  to  spare  them.  They  then  took  fifty 
of  the  richest  prisoners  with  them  to  the  point  of  St. 
Helena,  and  surrendered  the  rest  on  22,000  more 
being  paid. 

While  at  La  Puna,  the  Buccaneers  sallied  out  to 
attack  two  Spanish  armadillas,  but  not  having  any 
piraguas  to  tow  them  to  the  windward,  could  only 
cannonade  at  a  distance.  The  French  vessels  were 
much  shattered,  but  no  man  killed.  The  next  4^7 
they  came  to  a  close  fight,  both  sides  using  small  arms 


176  (iRi:AT  PIRATE  STORIES 

arul  ^rcat  miiis,  but  no  Buccaneer  was  killed.  The 
Spaniards  lost  many  men,  and  the  blood  ran  out  of 
their  scupper  holes,  but  they  still  cried  at  parting,  "A 
la  manana,  la  partida" — (to-morrow,  again).  The 
next  night  the  Buccaneers  unrigged  and  sank  one  of 
their  prizes,  and  iittcd  out  another,  manning  her  with 
twenty  Frenchmen,  who  wanted  to  leave  David.  \  he 
same  night  four  Spaniards  seized  one  of  the  prizes, 
and  escaped  to  Queaquilla.  Being  now  within  half 
cannon  shot,  the  rival  vessels  pounded  each  other  all 
day;  the  French  had  their  tackle  spoiled,  and  sails 
riven,  and  the  frigate  received  five  cannon-shot  in  the 
foremast,  and  three  in  the  mainmast,  but  had  not  one 
man  killed  or  wounded.  The  next  day  the  Spaniards 
hoisted  Burgundian  colours,  and  poured  in  volleys  of 
musket-shot,  but  neither  party  boarded.  The  ensuing 
day  the  Buccaneer  musketry  was  so  destructive,  that 
the  Spaniards  closed  their  port-holes  and  bore  up  to 
the  wind.  That  day  the  French  received  sixty  shots 
in  their  sides,  two-thirds  between  wind  and  water,  the 
rigging  was  torn,  and  Ravenau  and  another  man  were 
wounded.  At  night  the  Spaniards  failed  in  an  at- 
tempt to  board.  We  spent  this  night  at  anchor,  says 
Lussan,  to  stop  our  cannons'  mouths,  which  otherwise 
might  have  sent  us  into  the  deep.  To  his  astonish- 
ment, the  next  morning  the  armadillas  had  fled.  Dur- 
ing these  successive  days'  fighting,  the  governor  and 
officers  of  Queaquilla  had  been  brought  on  deck  to  wit- 
ness the  defeat  of  their  countrymen. 

They  then  set  their  prisoners  ashore  and  divided 
the  plunder,  the  whole  amounting  to  500,000  pieces 
of  eight,  or  15,000,000  livres,  and  in  shares  to  400 


RAVENAU  177 

pieces  of  eight  a  man.  The  uncoined  gold  and  the 
precious  stones  being  of  uncertain  value  were  sold  by 
auction,  that  those  who  had  silver  and  had  won  in 
gambling  might  buy.  All  who  expected  an  overland 
expedition  were  anxious  for  jewels,  as  more  portable 
and  less  heavy  than  silver.  They  sought  now  in  their 
descent  for  nothing  but  gold  and  jewels,  quite  disre- 
garding silver  as  a  mean  metal  and  heavy  to  carry. 
They  even  left  many  things  in  Queaquilla,  and  neg- 
lected to  send  a  canoe  for  the  lOO  caons  of  coined 
silver  (ii,ooo  pieces  of  eight  in  all)  which  had  been 
sent  to  the  opposite  river  side.  Taking  advantage 
of  their  indifference,  Spanish  thieves  mixed  with  the 
Buccaneers,  and  pillaged  their  own  countrymen. 
They  landed  at  Point  Mangla,  and  surprised  a  watch 
of  fifteen  Spanish  soldiers  who  had  been  placed  to 
guard  a  river  abounding  in  emeralds.  A  few  days 
after  they  took  a  vessel  from  Panama  going  to  Porto 
Bello  to  buy  negroes  off  the  point  of  Harina.  The 
French  fleet  was  next  attacked  by  a  Spanish  galley  and 
two  piraguas.  From  a  prisoner  they  heard  of  300 
Frenchmen,  who  had  defeated  600  Spaniards  and 
killed  their  leader  in  the  savannahs.  While  ca- 
reening in  the  bay  of  Mapalla  they  were  joined  by 
these  men,  who  proved  to  be  part  of  Grogniet's 
men,  who  had  left  their  companions  on  the  coast 
of  Acapulco,  refusing  to  go  further  towards  Cali- 
fornia. 

The  adventures  next  landed  in  the  Bay  of  Tecoante- 
pequa,  and  dispersing  a  body  of  300  Spaniards,  drawn 
up  upon  an  eminence,  marched  inland  towards  the 
town,  sleeping  all  night  in  the  open  air.     Nothing  but 


178  GRKAT  PIRATF  STORIES 

liunger  and  despair  could  have  induced  this  attack. 
The  town  was  intersected  by  a  great  and  very  rapid 
river,  encompassed  by  eight  suburbs,  and  defended  by 
3000  men.  The  Buccaneers  forded  the  river,  the 
water  up  to  their  middles,  and  after  an  hour's  fighting 
forced  the  Spaniards  from  their  entrenchment.  In 
two  hours  these  men,  enraged  with  hunger,  took  the 
phice  by  hand-to-hand  fighting,  and  eighty  sailors  then 
dislodged  the  enemy  from  the  abbey  of  St.  Francis, 
whose  terraces  commanded  the  town.  Finding  tlie 
river  was  overflowing  and  no  ransom  cf)ming,  the  Buc- 
caneers departed  the  next  day,  and  landing  at  V'atulco, 
took  the  old  governor  of  Merida  prisoner,  and  ob- 
tained some  provisions.  They  also  landed  at  Mueme- 
luna  and  victualled,  the  Spaniards  having  strong 
entrenchments,  but  making  little  resistance.  They 
found  upon  the  shore  the  musket  and  dead  body  of  a 
sailor  of  a  frigate  that  had  attempted  to  land  a  month 
before.  The  Spaniards  had  not  seen  the  body,  or  they 
would  have  cut  in  pieces  or  burnt  it,  as  they  were  in  the 
habit  of  even  digging  up  the  Buccaneers  buried  on  their 
shores.  At  Sansonnat  they  landed  in  the  face  of 
600  Spaniards  to  fill  their  water-casks,  being  faint 
from  thirst.  One  of  the  men,  more  impatient  than 
the  rest,  and  goaded  by  four  days'  drought,  swam 
ashore  and  was  drowned,  without  any  being  able  to 
help  him. 

They  now  .held  serious  councils  about  the  return  by 
land.  The  prisoners  declared  their  best  way  was  by 
Segovia,  where  they  would  only  meet  5000  or  6000 
Spaniards,  and  that  the  way  was  easy  for  the  sick  and 
wounded.     The   French   determined  to  land  and  ob- 


RAVEN  AU  179 

tain  more  certain  information,  and  this  was  one  of  the 
most  daring  of  their  adventures.  They  landed  sev- 
enty men,  and  marched  two  days  without  meeting  any- 
body, upon  which  eighteen,  less  weary  than  the  rest, 
tramped  on  and  soon  got  Into  a  high  road.  Captur- 
ing three  horsemen,  they  learnt  that  they  were  but  a 
quarter  of  a  league  distant  from  Chiloteca,  a  little 
town  with  about  400  white  Inhabitants,  besides  ne- 
groes, Indians,  and  mulattoes,  who  were  not  aware 
of  their  approach.  Afraid  to  waste  time  in  running 
back,  after  their  companions,  they  entered  the  town, 
frightened  the  Spaniards,  and  took  the  Teniente  and 
fifty  others  prisoners.  Had  there  not  been  horses 
ready  mounted,  on  which  they  made  their  escape,  the 
enemy  would,  every  man,  have  submitted  to  be  bound, 
being  overcome  with  a  panic  fear,  and  believing  the 
enemy  very  numerous.  They  learned  from  the  pris- 
oners that  the  Panama  galley  lay  waiting  for  them 
at  Caldaira,  and  the  St.  Lorenzo,  with  thirty  guns,  at 
Realegua.  They  also  said  that  600  men  would  be 
in  the  town  by  the  next  day.  The  Spaniards  now  be- 
gan to  rally,  and  compelled  the  Buccaneers  to  entrench 
themselves  in  the  church.  The  prisoners,  seeing  them 
hurry  in,  and  thinking  them  hard  pressed,  ran  to  a  pile 
of  arms  and  prepared  to  make  a  resistance;  but  the 
Buccaneers,  retreating  to  the  doors,  fired  at  the  crowd 
till  only  four  men  and  their  wives  were  left  alive. 
They  then  mounted  horses  and  retreated,  carrying  off 
four  prisoners  of  each  sex,  and  firing  at  a  herald  who 
tried  to  parley.  Joining  their  companions,  whom 
they  found  resting  at  a  hatto,  they  made  a  stand  and 
drove  back  600  Spaniards. 


180  GRFAT  PIRATE  STORIES 

The  statements  of  the  prisoners  Increased  their 
fears  of  the  overland  route,  hut  determining  rather  to 
die  sword  in  hand  than  to  pine  away  with  hunger,  they 
at  once  resolved  upon  their  design.  Running  all  the 
vessels  ashore  but  the  galley  and  piraguas,  which 
would  take  them  from  the  island  to  the  mainland, 
leaving  no  other  means  of  escape  to  the  timorous, 
they  formed  four  companies  of  seventy  men,  choosing 
ten  men  from  each  as  a  forlorn  hope,  to  be  relieved 
every  morning.  Those  who  were  lamed  were  to  have, 
as  formerly,  looo  pieces  of  eight,  the  horses  were  to 
be  kept  for  the  crippled  and  wounded.  The  strag- 
glers who  were  wounded  were  to  have  no  reward, 
whilst  violence,  cowardice,  and  drunkenness  were  to 
be  punished.  While  maturing  their  plans,  a  Spanish 
vessel  approached,  and  anchoring,  began  to  fire  at  the 
grounded  vessels,  and  soon  put  them  out  of  a  condi- 
tion to  sail.  Afraid  of  losing  their  piraugas,  the 
Buccaneers  sent  their  prisoners  and  baggage  to  some 
flats  behind  the  island.  The  next  day,  the  French- 
men, sheltering  themselves  behind  the  rocks  that  ran 
out  to  sea,  kept  the  vessel  at  a  distance;  but  now 
afraid  of  total  destruction,  the  Buccaneers  sent  lOo 
men  to  the  continent  at  night  to  secure  horses,  and 
wait  for  them  at  a  certain  port.  On  the  next  day 
the  Spanish  ship  took  fire,  and  put  out  to  sea  to  ex- 
tinguish the  flames.  The  next  day  the  Buccaneers 
escaped  by  a  stratagem.  Having  spent  the  whole 
night  in  hammering  the  vessel,  as  if  careening,  to  pre- 
vent all  suspicion  of  their  departure,  they  charged 
all  their  guns;  grenades,  and  four  pieces  of  cannon, 
and  tied  to  them  pieces  of  lighted  matches  of  various 


RAVENAU  181 

lengths,  in  order  to  keep  up  an  alarm  throughout  the 
night.  In  the  twilight  they  departed  as  secretly 
as  they  could,  the  prisoners  carrying  the  surgeons' 
medicines,  the  carpenters'  tools,  and  the  wounded 
men. 

On  the  1st  of  January,  1688,  the  Buccaneers  ar- 
rived on  the  continent.  On  the  evening  of  the  same 
day  the  men  joined  them  with  sixty-eight  horses  and 
several  prisoners,  all  of  whom  dissuaded  them  in  vain 
from  attempting  to  go  by  Segovia,  where  the  Span- 
iards were  fully  alarmed.  The  men,  nothing  de- 
terred, packed  up  each  his  charge,  and  thrust  their 
silver  and  ammunition  into  bags.  Those  who  had  too 
much  to  carry,  gave  it  to  those  who  had  lost  theirs  by 
gaming,  promising  them  half  in  "case  it  should  please 
God  to  bring  them  safe  to  the  North  Sea."  Ravenau 
de  Lussan  tells  us  his  charge  was  lighter  but  not  less 
valuable  than  the  others,  as  he  had  converted  30,000 
pieces  of  eight  into  pearls  and  precious  stones.  "But 
as  the  best  part  of  this,"  he  says,  "was  the  product  of 
luck  I  had  at  play,  some  of  those  who  had  been  losers, 
as  well  in  playing  against  me  as  others,  becoming 
much  discontented  at  their  losses,  plotted  together  to 
the  number  of  seventeen  or  eighteen,  to  murder  those 
who  were  richest  amongst  us.  I  was  so  happy  as  to 
be  timely  advertised  of  it  by  some  friends,  which  did 
not  a  little  disquiet  my  mind,  for  it  was  a  very  diffi- 
cult task  for  a  man,  during  so  long  a  journey,  to  be 
able  to  secure  himself  from  being  surprised  by  those 
who  were  continually  in  the  same  company,  and  with 
whom  we  must  eat,  drink,  and  sleep,  and  who  could 
cut  off  whom  they  pleased  of  us  in  the  conflicts  they 


182 


GREAT  PIRATE  STORIES 


might  have  with  the  Spaniards,  by  shooting  us  in  the 
hurry."  To  frustrate  this  scheme,  Ravcnau  there- 
fore divided  his  treasure  among  several  men,  and  by 
this  means  removed  a  weight  both  from  his  mind  and 
body. 


THE  CORSAIRS 

From  "Mr.  Roberts,  his  Voyage  to  the  Levant,"  by 
John  Roberts] 

Mr.  Roberts  his  Voyage  to  the  Levant,  with  an  Ac- 
count of  his  sufferings  amongst  the  Corsairs,  their 
Villanous  way  of  Living,  and  his  Description  of  the 
Archipelago  Islands. 

Together  with  his  Relation  of  Taking,  and  Retaking 
of  Scio  in  the  year  1696. 

I  WAS  cast  away  June  12.  1692.  In  the  Haven  of 
Nio,  in  his  Majesties  hired  ship,  the  Arcana- 
Gally,  which  sunk,  as  it  was  there  Careening. 
Having  lost  a  considerable  value  In  her,  I  was  in  hopes 
to  get  part  of  my  loss  again,  our  Ship  being  sunk  in 
but  17  foot  Water:  So  I  stayed  behind,  but  most  of  our 
Men  went  away  in  a  French  Prize  we  had  taken.  The 
next  day  I  agreed  with  a  Greek  to  carry  me  for  Scio, 
from  whence  I  could  get  passage  for  Smirna,  and  so 
Transport  my  self  home  again.  But  the  third  day 
being  June  the  i^th,  I  was  frustrated  of  my  design; 
for  a  Crusal  or  Corsair  coming  Into  the  Harbor,  he 
immediately  sent  his  Boat  ashoar,  where  meeting  with 
five  more  of  our  Men,  who  were  also  left  behind,  he 
soon  with  fair  words  got  them  on  board;  who  presently 
told  him  of  me.  So  ashoar  they  came,  in  search  of 
m.e;  and  one  of  them  being  a  Genuese,  soon  found  me. 

183 


184         (;k1':at  pirate  stories 

Upon  our  meeting,  he  saluted  me  with  a  kiss,  and 
callcii  mc  by  niy  Name,  having  learned  it  of  our  Men; 
for  I  never  saw  hirn  in  my  Life  before.  He  invited 
me  to  drink,  which  I  refused,  as  partly  knowing  his 
ilesign;  and  I  had  heard  how  miserably  Men  lived  in 
a  Crusal.  Seeing  therefore  tliat  all  his  Wits  would 
not  take,  he  left  me.  In  the  I'',vening  came  to  me  an 
Enyiish  Man,  who  had  sailed  in  her  8  years,  his  Name 
was  Dawes,  he  was  a  Native  of  Saltash  in  Cornwall, 
whom  we  had  taken  out  of  this  Crusal,  before  our  Ship 
was  lost:  But  he,  like  a  Dog  returning  to  his  Vomit, 
went  on  board  again;  where  he  yet  remains,  for  ought 
I  know.  Then  came  a  Dane,  and  he  strove  to  wheedle 
me:  After  him  a  Livorneze  with  a  Letter  from  the 
Captain,  promising  me  great  Rewards,  if  I  would  come 
on  board  and  be  his  gunner;  all  which  I  utterly  re- 
fused, and  denyed:  So  that  June  the  iStli,  coming  to 
the  Water-side  to  Embark  for  Scio,  there  came  out  of 
the  rocks  12  Rogues,  whereof  this  Dawes  was  one,  laid 
hold  of  me,  and  carryed  me  on  board  on  the  Star-board 
side;  where  I  no  sooner  ascended,  but  came  a  fellow 
and  clapped  a  chain  on  my  Legg,  and  no  one  spoke  to 
me  one  word.  Neitlier  did  I  see  any  Captain  in  five 
days  time,  but  then  he  called  to  me,  and  asked  me  to 
serve  him,  which  I  utterly  denied:  Whereupon  he  called 
me  Dog,  and  said  he  would  make  me  leave  my  Lu- 
theran bones  in  the  Archipelago,  for  pretending  to  go 
to  Turkey  to  betray  him.  I  answered,  I  had  no  such 
thoughts,  neither  knew  I  how  to  go  about  it;  but  I 
knew  that  the  Greeks  Traded  with  the  Turks  daily, 
and  could  give  them  intelligence;  and  that  for  my  part, 
I  had  never  been  in  Turkey  in  my  life,  but  all  my  plead- 


THE  CORSAIRS  185 

ing  was  in  vain:  For  he  knew  that  in  these  poor  dis- 
tressed Isles,  was  no  more  Justice  to  be  had,  than  what 
his  accursed  self  would  allow,  so  that  I  was  forced  to 
remain  there.  Money  he  offered  me,  to  the  value  of 
ten  Dollars,  but  them  I  was  advised  to  refuse,  by  a 
friend  who  assured  me,  if  I  took  none,  he  would  in  a 
short  time  let  me  go :  So  to  Sea  we  went,  where  he 
knockt  off  my  Chains,  and  ordered  me  to  cunn  the 
Ship,  in  which  station  I  continued  for  three  Months. 
Crusal  is  a  word,  mistakingly  used,  for  Corsair;  which 
in  English  signifies  a  Privateer;  wherein  we  acted  our 
part,  not  in  taking  Turkish  Vessels,  but  Greek  Saicks, 
or  any  small  Ships  that  came  in  our  way.  When  I  had 
spent  3  Months  in  this  unpleasing  Traffick,  I  was  pre- 
ferred forsooth  to  be  Mr.  Gunner,  but  God  knows 
it  came  upon  me  by  compulsion;  for  the  Captain  hav- 
ing first  beat  the  old  Livorneze  Gunner  severely,  who 
was  a  Man  of  60  years  of  Age,  he  commanded  me  into 
the  Gun-room,  to  take  the  charge  of  what  was  there; 
which  with  an  unwilling  willingness  I  did,  and  con- 
tinued there  till  I  made  my  escape;  before  which  I  shall 
give  a  little  account  in  the  mean  time,  of  my  manner  of 
living.  The  first  three  Months  I  Eat  with  the  Lieu- 
tenant, and  afterwards  with  the  Captain,  it  being  the 
Italian  Custom  in  all  Ships :  Who  while  I  was  Gunner, 
would  often  tell  me,  I  should  have  all  the  Patereroes 
we  took,  which  was  really  my  due;  tho  for  35  Pater- 
eroes and  70  Chambers,  I  never  had  any  more  than 
two  Dollars,  and  seven  Ryals,  being  all  the  Money  I 
ever  saw  for  my  sixteen  Months  Service.  In  the  mean 
while  to  make  my  Captivity  (as  I  may  say)  as  easie 
as  I  could;  I  always  imployed  my  self  to  Study,  and 


180  GREAT  PIRATE  STORIES 

liaviiifj;  a  Greek  Boy  allowed  mc,  that  spake  Turkish, 
Greek,  and  Italian,  (of  the  latter  whereof,  I  was  al- 
most Master  ere  I  came  here)  I  did  by  the  Boys  means, 
jj;et  an  insight  in  the  other  two:  Besides  which,  my 
way  of  living  was  such,  that  I  always  took  great  notice 
wheresoever  I  went,  of  the  Isles,  Ports,  Roads,  and 
Soundings,  and  set  down  the  same  constantly  in  writ- 
ing, which  added  to  my  I*lxperience ;  and  made  me  pass 
away  the  time  so  much  the  more  pleasantly:  But  to 
shew  you  the  life  of  a  poor  Saylor  here,  I  am  sure  no- 
thing can  paralell  it  for  the  badness  thereof :  When  they 
are  in  Port,  they  have  the  Ballast  to  heave  out  and  in, 
and  fetch  burthens  of  Wood,  and  Barricades  of  water 
a  large  half  Mile  on  their  Backs;  and  when  that  is  not 
always  to  do,  they  are  otherwise  constantly  imploy'd 
to  carry  one  Anchor  out,  and  to  get  the  other  on 
Board;  to  shift  the  fasts  on  shoar,  and  then  haul  and 
tug  them  up  to  Dry:  In  fine,  they  are  never  at  rest; 
and  if  our  Labour  was  hard,  our  Fare  was  worse. 
We  had  a  Steward  that  had  but  one  hand,  and  that  was 
the  measure  by  which  our  Bread  was  measured  three 
times  a  day,  and  that  was  all  we  had:  Only  on  Sun- 
days and  Thursdays,  we  had  a  kettle  of  Horse-beans 
boiled,  and  well  salted,  and  some  times  one  quarter  of 
a  pint  of  Oyl  thrown  on  them,  as  they  boiled.  But 
some  insinuating  fellows  that  complained  to  the  Stew- 
ard of  some  bodies  Misdemeanor,  whereof  he  might 
have  somewhat  to  tell  the  Captain,  got  a  Sardinia, 
which  was  a  great  favour:  Note  that  a  Sardina  is  a 
small  Fish  like  a  Sprat,  very  salt.  But  otherwise  while 
we  were  out  at  Sea,  we  never  had  any  thing  but  Bread, 
only  when  we  got  on  Rhodes  or  Cyprus,  and  had  the 


THE  CORSAIRS  187 

luck  to  steal  some  Cattle,  which  we  often  did;  then  we 
got  our  guts  full  of  Tripe,  and  Liver-heads,  and  when 
the  Flesh  was  kept  so  long  for  the  Captain  till  It  stank, 
then  we  had  that  for  our  Food.  As  for  the  manner 
of  our  taking  a  Prize,  we  generally  run  a  Saick  on 
board  with  the  Ship  at  once;  then  into  her  we  jumpt, 
and  had  time  enough  allowed  us  to  Plunder:  From 
whence  we  returned  on  board  with  our  Booty,  and  no 
body  molested  us.  But  when  we  had  been  on  board  3 
or  4  days,  and  thought  all  was  secure;  then  all  hands 
were  called  up  fore  and  aft,  and  down  went  the  Lieu- 
tenant, Boat-Swain's  Mate,  and  he  that  looked  after 
the  Slaves,  and  ransackt  all  our  Bags  and  Baskets 
(Chests  we  had  none,  there  being  but  one  in  the  whole 
Ship)  and  they  brought  all  to  the  Captain:  Who  if 
he  found  any  poor  fellow  have  got  any  one  thing  that 
was  worth  a  Dollar,  or  the  like,  he  took  it  away;  and 
told  him,  he  would  bid  the  Steward  put  it  up  for  him, 
but  he  never  sees  it  any  more.  So  the  poor  Souls  go 
always  Naked,  only  sometimes  they  get  a  few  Rags, 
that  he  cannot  for  shame  take  from  them :  But  I 
knew  forty  in  the  Ship,  that  swore  they  had  not  wore 
Shoe  nor  Stocking  In  8  years;  and  whose  Lodging  is  on 
the  softest  Plank  they  can  find:  You  will  moreover 
find  another  sort  of  Gentry  here,  by  which  all  this 
Roguery  is  maintained:  (viz.)  Voluntlers.  These  are 
a  pack  of  Rogues  which  are  kept  here  for  that  purpose, 
and  distributed  through  the  Ship,  to  tell  tales  of  the 
rest.  There  is  In  every  Ship  about  forty  of  them; 
whereof  one  Gang  eats  with  the  Captain,  another  with 
the  Lieutenant,  another  with  the  Steward,  and  another 
with  the  Boat-Swain:     These  are  all  at  the  Captain's 


188  GREAT  PIRATE  STORIES 

Devotion,  whom  he  chiefly  Trusts,  and  may  safely  do 
it:      For  if  they  beat  them,  they  will  not  go  away,  for 
they  are  all  Run-away's,  some  having  merited  the  Gal- 
lows, others  Fire  and  Faggot  for  Sodomy,  and  some 
the  Galleys  for  Theft:      So  they  dare  not  stir,  being 
here  secure  from  all;  and  wiiat  Plunder  is  gotten,  these 
Villains  have  it.      Now  you  may  wonder,  that  there 
is  never  any  Rebellion  in  these  Ships;  'tis  true,  some- 
times tliere  happens  a  Mutiny,  and  whenever  it  does, 
it   is   for  want   of   their   Complement   of   these   Hell- 
hounds:     For  where  they   are,    'tis   impossible   to  do 
any  thing:     For  they  are  in  and  out  among  you  Night 
and  Day,  and  if  any  one  happen  to  say  any  thing  a 
miss,  whip  'tis  at  the  Captains  Ears,  and  the  Offender 
severely  punished;  nay,  it  may  be,  clapt  in  Chains  for 
six   Months  together,  below  in   the   hold  among  the 
Slaves,  on  the  cold  Ballast.      Now  you  will  say,  why 
not  they  run  away  when  they  go  ashoar?     But  that 
likewise  is  as  'twere  impossible,  for  they  will  give  them 
liberty  to  go  ashoar,  on  any  Island  in  the  Archipelago: 
Melo  excepted,  whose  Inhabitants  there  will  not  be 
fooled  by  them.      But  on  any  of  the  other  Islands,  if  a 
Man  deserts,  the  Lieutenant  goes  ashoar  and  lays  hold 
of  ten  or  more  Greek  Priests  (being  the  Men  of  most 
Note)   and  carries  them  on  board,  who  are  hereupon 
acquainted  by  the  Captain,  that  they  must  send  to  their 
Neighbours,   and  let  him   get   his   Men   again,   or   he 
would  carry  them  to  Sea  with  him  in  Chains:     Upon 
this,  they  immediately  send  on  shoar,  and  away  goes 
2  or  3  hundred  of  the  Natives  in  a  drove,  and  leave 
not  a  Stone  unturned,  till  they  have  found  the  Run- 
away and  brought  him  on  board;  where  ten  to  one, 


THE  CORSAIRS  189 

but  he  is  punished  with  the  Strapadoe  at  the  Yard- 
Arm,  and  then  for  8  or  lo  Months  lies  in  Chains: 
Others  who  have  got  privately  ten  Dollars  by  chance, 
have  given  them  to  a  Greek  to  hide  them;  but  they  are 
so  false,  that  for  another  Dollar,  they  will  inform  the 
Captain  where  they  lie,  and  he  shall  go  to  the  place,  and 
find  them  him  self;  so  the  false  Greek  is  not  as  much  as 
mistrusted. 

As  for  the  manner  of  their  setting  out  first  from 
Legorne;  they  fit  their  Ship  in  the  Mould,  having  got 
some  of  these  Rogues  by  friends  out  of  Prison,  some 
out  of  the  Baniard;  others  run  from  Genoa,  and 
abundance  from  Corsica,  who  fearing  that  Justice  will 
overtake  them,  if  they  stay  there,  they  Embark  on 
board  the  Crusal,  and  having  them  there,  the  Ship  is 
half  Manned:  Then  they  haul  out  into  the  Road,  and 
they  begin  to  decoy  all  sorts  of  People  and  Nations 
they  can  pick  up :  Some  of  these  Voluntiers  coming  a 
shoar,  [i.e.)  them  that  dare  come  upon  Land,  go  about 
from  one  Tavern  to  the  other,  seeking  who  they  can 
pick  up;  and  having  got  a  Prize  they  carry  him  to  the 
Captain,  who  kindly  salutes  him,  giving  him  a  glass  of 
Wine,  and  a  clean  Towel  to  wipe  his  Lips:  And  then 
to  strike  a  bargain,  the  Captain  he  speaks,  and  if  any 
of  his  Gang  is  near  him,  they  affirm  the  truth  to  a  thou- 
sand Lies,  The  Captain  tells  him  he  has  got  a  brave 
Ship,  and  to  be  sure,  8  or  lo  Guns  more  than  she  can 
carry,  and  that  he  does  not  want  Men,  but  he  would 
carry  more  then  his  Company  for  Manning  of  Prizes; 
assuring  him,  that  he  is  to  stay  out  but  three  years  at 
most,  and  in  that  time,  no  fear  but  they  might  get  2 
or  3   thousand  Dollars  per  Man.     This  allures  the 


190  GRKAT  PIRATK  STORIES 

poor  ensnared  fool,  and  lie  Is  promised  50,  60,  or  8c 
Dollars,  II  lie  he  a  brisk  fellow:  So  he  gives  him  ten 
or  fifteen  In  hand,  and  tells  him  he  has  no  more  Money 
at  present,  than  what  he  has  occasion  for,  but  bids  him 
go  and  view  the  town,  and  come  again  at  his  Leisure. 
Away  goes  the  poor  fellow,  thinking  to  give  him  the 
slip,  but  he  shall  not  budge  nor  stir,  for  he  shall  have  a 
Spy  at  his  Heels  constantly;  Nay,  eat  and  drink  with 
him,  and  shall  not  know  it:  And  if  he  is  minded  to 
be  gone  quite  from  thence,  then  he  shall  have  the 
Spirocs  or  Bailiffs  ready  to  throw  him  into  Prison,  and 
keep  him  there  while  the  Ship  Sails;  and  thence  for- 
ward he  never  gets  one  farthing  more.  But  now  if  he 
be  pliable,  and  two  or  three  days  after  comes  for  the 
rest  of  his  Money;  then  the  Captain  pretends  to  be 
very  busie,  and  sends  one  along  with  him  to  the  water 
side,  where  the  Boat  lies;  and  having  not  hands  suf- 
ficient to  corry  her  off,  he  desires  him  to  help,  and  at 
the  same  time  gives  a  seeming  charge  to  the  Coxon,  to 
tell  the  Lieutenant  to  let  him  come  ashoar  again  with 
the  Boat  for  his  Money,  though  the  Coxon  had  another 
private  Order  before  to  detain  him.  So  that  when 
he  is  got  once  a  board,  he  sees  no  more  Shoar  nor 
Money.  As  for  the  way  how  the  Corsair  gets  his 
Provision  in  the  Arches,  being  commonly  little  more 
than  bread :  He  makes  the  Greeks  bring  him  the  same 
from  Island  to  Island  at  his  own  price,  and  they  must 
do  it,  though  they  have  none  left  for  themselves;  and 
for  other  Provision,  he  gets  the  same  out  of  Prizes, 
as  he  does  also  his  Rigging  and  Cables:  And  towards 
Winter,  when  he  has  a  mind  to  lie  up,  then  he  brings  a 
Prize  in  with  him.  Careens  his  Ship,  and  rips  up  the 


THE  CORSAIRS  191 

Prize  to  Repair  her;  so  that  if  an  old  Ship  comes  intc 
the  Arches,  and  stays  out  twenty  year,  she  is  a  far  bet 
ter  Ship  when  she  goes  home,  then  when  she  went  out: 
And  for  their  powder,  they  get  it  from  French  Mer- 
chant-Men at  Melo,  or  else  from  the  Venetian  Ar- 
mado. 

Next  I  shall  say  somewhat  concerning  the  Wintering 
and  places  of  Cruising  all  times  of  the  year:  They 
lie  up  commonly  at  Paris,  Anteparis,  Nio,  and  Melo; 
from  the  middle  of  December,  to  the  beginning  of 
March;  and  then  they  go  for  the  Furnoes,  and  lie 
there  under  the  high  Land  hid,  having  a  watch  on  the 
Hill  with  a  little  Flag,  whereby  they  make  a  Signal, 
if  they  see  any  Sail :  They  slip  out  and  lie  athwart  the 
Boak  of  Samos,  and  take  their  Prize;  they  lie  in  the 
same  nature  under  Necaria,  and  Gadronise,  and  Lep- 
piso  in  the  Spring,  and  fore-part  of  the  Summer : 
Then  for  the  middle  of  Summer,  they  ply  on  the 
Coast  of  Cyprus;  and  if  they  hear  the  least  noise  of 
any  Algerines  and  grand  Turks  Ships  at  Rhodes,  away 
they  scour  for  the  Coast  of  Alexandria  and  Damiata, 
being  shole  Water,  well  knowing  the  Turks  will 
not  follow  them  thither.  The  latter  part  of  the  Sum- 
mer, they  come  stealing  on  the  Coast  of  Syria,  where 
they  do  most  mischief  with  their  Feleucca,  which  com- 
monly Rows  with  12  Oars,  and  carries  6  Sitters:  For 
at  Night  they  leave  the  Ship,  and  get  under  the  shoar 
before  Day,  and  hide  the  Feleucca  in  a  hole,  and  go 
all  ashoar,  where  they  way-lay  the  Turks,  and  take 
sometimes  a  Dozen  of  them  at  a  time,  whom  they 
bring  on  board  the  Ship,  and  so  sail  away  to  those 
places  where  these  Turks  live,  {viz.)  to  2  ripoly-Soria, 


192         grilAT  pi  rati-:  stories 

.lappa,  Ca'ipha,  St.  John  de  Acres,  Sidon,  or  Barute, 
ami  come  to  an  Anchor  without  (jun-shot  when  they 
hoist  a  white  Mnsij^n,  and  fire  a  (jun  :  Hereupon  the 
Turks  will  come  off  and  treat  with  them,  for  the  Re- 
demption of  tlicir  Slaves.  I'rom  hence  towards  the 
Autumn  they  come  lurkinj^  in  about  the  Islands,  to  and 
fro  about  the  Boakes  again,  till  they  put  in  also  to  lie 
up  in  the  Winter.  As  for  the  Prizes  they  make;  if 
they  take  a  Saick  coming  from  the  Black  Sea  laden  with 
Wood,  which  they  call  light  Prizes;  they  carry  them 
to  Paris  or  Melo,  where  they  soon  dispatch  them: 
But  if  they  take  one  coming  from  Alexandria  Laden 
with  Rise,  Coffee,  Sugar,  Lentils,  Linnen,  ^c.  then  all 
the  Island  is  allarmed,  and  happy  is  he  that  can  come 
first,  to  bestow  his  Talent.  Then  the  poor  Saylors  it 
may  be,  steal  a  measure  or  two  of  Lentils  or  Rise,  and 
save  it  as  if  it  were  so  much  gold :  I  have  given  an 
account  before  of  their  Diet,  and  for  their  Drink,  it  is 
fair  W^ater  only,  and  nothing  else,  except  when  they 
Row  the  Ship  for  half  a  day  together  in  Chase,  they 
get  a  cup  of  Wine  mixt  with  Water  served  to  them. 

As  for  the  Number  of  Ships  they  used  this  Trade  in 
the  Levant;  what  Guns,  Colours,  and  Men  they  carred, 
how  long  they  had  been  out; 

The  St.  Hellena  wherein  I  was,  had  two  Captains, 
{viz.)  Josepi  Pretiosi,  and  Angela  Francisco,  both  Na- 
tives of  Corsica:  We  had  Lovorneze  Colours,  car- 
ryed  20  Guns,  30  Patereroes,  and  230  Men:  The 
Ship  was  out  the  first  time  nine  Years  when  she  re- 
turned home  and  went  again  with  one  Captain  Angela; 
and  has  been  out  this  time  four  years,  with  the  same 
Number  of  Guns,  Men  and  Colours. 


1 


THE  CORSAIRS  193 

The  Annuntiation  was  commanded  by  John  Pera- 
gola,  a  Native  of  Corsica,  having  Livorneze  Colours, 
22  Guns,  1 6  Patereroes,  and  230  Men,  the  same  had 
been  out  6  years. 

The  Caravel  was  Commanded  by  John  Fecho,  hav- 
ing Portuguese  Colours,  12  Guns,  8  Patereroes,  109 
Men;  and  had  been  out  19  Years.  This  last  is  a  Cor- 
sicane  too. 

The  Madona  of  Mount  Negroa,  was  Commanded 
by  Captain  Franciscine,  a  Native  of  Corsica,  having 
Livornese  Colours,  16  Guns,  10  Patereroes,  160  Men; 
and  had  been  out  four  Years  and  a  half. 

St.  Barbara  was  Commanded  by  Antony  Sicar  Pro- 
vensal,  and  had  French  owners,  he  carried  Venetian 
Colours,  24  Guns,  12  Patereroes,  200  Men,  and  had 
been  out  eight  Years. 

Here  .were  moreover  three  Maltese,  but  they  dare 
not  stay  out  above  five  years;  so  that  I  cannot  tell 
whether  they  are  there  all  now  or  no :  The  biggest 
was  called  the  great  Cavalier,  and  was  Commanded 
by  a  Knight,  having  36  Guns,  and  20  Patereroes. 
There  is  another  of  14  Guns,  and  the  little  Cavalier, 
Commanded  by  a  Knight,  has  but  6  Guns,  "12  Pater- 
eroes, and  70  or  80  Men. 

Now  to  come  to  the  manner  of  the  Corsairs,  giving 
an  account  to  their  Owners  of  any  Prize  taken  coming 
out  of  the  Black  Seas,  Laden  with  Wood;  they  give 
in  an  account  only  of  a  light  Saick,  although  they  make 
Money  of  every  Stick  of  it;  and  perhaps  the  Saick 
shall  give  50  or  60  Thousand  Dollars  to  purchase  her 


194  GREAT  PIRATE  STORIES 

Lading:  But  for  anotlicr  Saick,  he  may  account  ten 
Thousand  Dollars,  if  in  company  with  another  Ship; 
if  the  Captain  he  hut  new  made,  who  for  that  reason 
is  willing  to  shew  himself  Fortunate  at  first  to  his 
Owners,  and  thereupon  gets  Encouragement,  and  is 
reckoned  a  Gallantliuomo,  or  an  honest  Man;  though 
afterwards  he  gets  his  Trade  as  right  as  the  rest: 
But  when  they  take  a  Saick  Laden  with  Rice,  Coffee, 
Sugar,  &c.  it  may  be  of  250  or  300  Tuns  Burthen,  the 
general  way  is,  that  the  Owners  have  an  account  of  a 
Saick  of  100  Tuns  Laden  with  Rice,  and  6  or  10  Bales 
of  Coffee;  when,  it  may  be,  she  had  80,  90,  or  100, 
as  often  they  have  on  Board:  And  in  pursuance 
thereof,  a  French  Statee  is  fraughted  of  60  Tuns,  and 
sent  for  Leghorn  with  60  Tuns  of  Rice  and  the  Coffee, 
the  rest  being  charged  for  Provision,  and  given  to  the 
Men,  who  poor  Souls,  have  the  least  share.  Then 
also  what  Slaves  are  not  able  to  Redeem  themselves, 
are  packed  off  for  Leghorn,  but  such  as  are  able  to  do 
it,  there  is  never  any  account  of  them;  which  amount 
perhaps  to  50  or  60  in  a  year,  more  or  less,  for  the 
Money  will  flow  in  little  room.  After  all,  comes  in  a 
large  Bill,  with  Item  for  Tallow,  Item  for  Pitch,  Item 
for  Carpenters,  Item  for  Provision,  in  General;  Item 
for  Powder,  Item  for  Small-shot,  Item  for  Oacum, 
Item  for  Cottoning,  Twine  and  Rope,  and  I  know 
not  what:  But  there  are  ten  Item's,  where  there  need 
but  one.  However,  by  the  long  staying  out  of  the 
Ship,  the  Owner  Is  in  the  end  a  Gainer,  by  a  continual 
supply  of  Slaves,  which  brings  him  In  dally  Interest 


THE  CORSAIRS  195 

and  by  the  Men's  being  never  paid  their  Wages. 
Don  Antony  Paule,  the  chief  owner  in  Leghorn,  had 
at  least  400  Slaves  which  work'd  about  the  Town 
daily,  and  paid  him  so  much  per  Week.  The  Truth 
of  this  I  can  swear  to,  for  our  two  Captains  never 
feared  to  let  me  know  any  thing,  being  a  Foreigner: 
And  our  Scrivener  dying,  I  had  the  opportunity  to 
write  several  of  their  Item-BiWs  (for  they  were  afraid 
to  trust  any  other)  many  times;  wherein  among  other 
Extravagancies,  they  have  charged  3  Barrels  of 
Powder  being  fired  at  a  Statee,  that  we  never  saw. 
For  what  concerns  their  Officers  shares,  small  and 
great,  the  same  is  as  follows.  The  Lieutenant  is  put 
in  Master  of  the  Prize,  and  has  the  Cabbin,  and  all 
that  is  in  it,  Money  excepted;  and  if  he  steals  a  little, 
he  is  winked  at,  being  it  may  be  private  to  some  of 
their  Intreagues.  The  Boat-swain  is  allowed  the 
Saick's  Topsail,  and  he  must  allow  his  Mate  the  third 
of  it,  and  the  Castiliane  or  Yeoman  a  third  of  that 
again;  they  are  allowed  the  Sheet-Anchor  also,  but 
the  Saicks  have  mostly  great  Grapling  Irons,  and  they 
get  them:  The  Boat-Swain  is  allowed  to  sell  Wine, 
and  no  one  else,  till  he  has  done,  must  do  the  like : 
But  then  his  Mate  begins,  who  has  the  priviledge  to 
let  out  Cards  to  play,  and  receives  3  parees  per  Dollar 
advance:  But  this  only  from  the  Main-Mast  for- 
ward; for  the  Voluntiers  getting  Money,  are  always 
at  Play,  yet  must  keep  no  Cards  of  their  own.  When 
the  Liquor  is  spent,  the  Steward  may  begin  his  shew, 
and  the  Serjeant  has  the  priviledge  of  the  Cards  abaft 


196  GREAT  PIRATE  STORIES 

the  Mast.  The  Steward,  Chaplain,  Scrivener,  Doc- 
tor, Carpenter,  and  Caulker,  have  their  respective 
shares  out  of  a  Store-room  that  is  in  the  Saicks 
Bow,  called  Camera  de  Sarica;  and  such  poor  Gunners 
as  I  was,  especially  Foreigners,  have  the  Patereroes 
when  they  can  get  them.  As  for  the  Saicks,  they  have 
usually  several  Cabhins  forward,  and  a  kind  of  a  half 
Deck  abaft;  all  which  the  Men  Plunder,  after  the 
Voluntiers  have  done:  But  if  they  find  any  thing  of 
value,  the  Captain  takes  it,  and  gives  it  the  Steward 
to  lay  up,  that  it  may  not  be  stole  from  them;  which 
he  perswades  them  it  will  be,  if  kept  between  Deck, 
but  himself  is  the  Thief,  for  they  never  see  it  more,  as 
I  have  said  already. 

Having  told  you  how  he  deals  with  the  Captivated 
Turks;  I  shall  now  proceed  to  shew  how  they  use  the 
poor  Greeks;  they  take  in  the  Saicks  First  they 
threaten  the  Master  severely,  especially  of  a  Wood- 
laden  Saick,  to  make  him  confess  what  Money  there 
is;  and  then  if  they  find  him  fearful  and  pliable,  as 
they  generally  are,  they  give  him  lo  Dollars,  and  send 
him  away  packing:  But  if  he  be  Morose  and  Sullen, 
then  they  plague  him  for  3  or  4  Months,  and  are  not 
afraid  of  his  going  to  Leghorn  to  make  his  Complaint, 
or  that  he  can  give  any  intelligence  to  their  Owner, 
how  much  Goods  he  had  on  Board,  as  not  knowing 
what  a  Bill  of  Lading  Is:  Only  he  has  an  old  doting 
Scrivener  with  him,  who  has  only  a  Manifesto  in  gen- 
eral, which  they  immediately  get  from  him:  But  at 
last  he  has  his  Liberty,  however  if  they  want  Men,  or 
are  going  in  to  Careen,  they  will  detain  a  Dozen  of 


THE  CORSAIRS  197 

the  best  of  them:  And  if  there  is  ever  a  Carpender, 
or  Caulker  among  them,  he  is  fast  in  for  his  Life-time; 
or  if  there  be  ever  a  fair-faced  Lad  among  them,  he 
must  stay  to  be  a  Comarada  to  some  lustful  Voluntario. 

These  Corsairs  go  sometimes  in  Consort  two  or 
three  together,  but  cruise  in  several  Stations;  and 
when  they  come  in,  they  share  their  Botty  very  justly. 
And  so  it  is,  that  if  two  or  more  Corsairs  that  are 
not  Consorts  are  near  one  Station,  but  out  of  sight 
one  of  the  other,  yet  if  one  takes  a  Prize,  and  the 
other  hears  the  Guns,  and  meets  that  which  made  the 
Prize  six  Months  after,  he  will  have  a  Share  accord- 
ing as  his  Ship  is,  either  more  or  less  in  bigness: 
And  they  have  this  as  an  establish'd  Law  among 
themselves,  and  do  keep  it  to  the  utmost  Punctillio. 
But  I  think  in  all  other  things  they  are  lawless:  And 
except  I  were  again  intangled  as  before,  I  should  pre- 
fer seven  Years  Slavery  in  Algier,  as  a  far  better 
Choice  than  to  live  i6  Months  In  a  Crusal:  From 
both  which  I  pray  God  to  deliver  me  and  all  Men. 

The  manner  of  Punishing  Persons  for  petty  Crimes, 
viz.  for  staying  or  going  ashore  without  leave,  and  re- 
turning again  of  their  own  accord,  (^c.  is  as  follows, 
They  are  brought  before  the  Capstane,  and  seized 
fast  with  a  Crow  of  Iron  at  their  Heels.  Then  a 
Slave  beates  them  with  a  Rope  of  two  Inches  thick, 
on  their  bare  Backs,  until  the  Captain  bids  him  leave 
off:  And  when  the  Slave  can  lay  on  no  longer,  who 
is  all  the  while  egged  on  by  a  Renagado  Greek  that 
looks  after  the  Slaves,  the  other  takes  him  in  hand: 
And  then  the  Captain  next  belabours  him  with  his 
Cane,  who  if  he  finds  they  do  not  perform  their  Work 


198  GREAT  PIRATE  STORIES 

Authentickly,    Canes    them    all    three    without    Mercy. 

They  use  the  same  Method  for  him  that  is  at  Top- 
mast Head;  for  if  those  that  arc  above  Deck  see  a 
Sail  (which,  by  reason  of  the  high  Land,  they  often 
do)  before  him  that  is  aloft,  then  he  is  relieved  and 
brought  to  the  Capstane;  and  his  Due,  according  to 
the  Rigour,  is  500  Blows,  but  he  seldom  escapes  with 
less  than  the  best  half. 

Now  I  come  to  relate  the  manner  of  my  Escape 
from  the  Corsairs. 

You  must  note,  I  would  have  put  it  in  practice 
sooner  than  I  did,  but  I  had  all  the  while  a  little 
Dutch  Boy  in  my  Company,  that  came  out  of  England 
with  me  in  the  Arcana  Galley,  and  my  Resolution  was 
to  have  liv'd  and  dy'd  there,  had  I  not  got  the  Boy 
away  as  well  as  my  self:  Which  at  last  I  did  effect  at 
Noon  day.  For  lying  at  Anteparis  with  a  Prize,  I 
got  ashoar,  and  lighting  on  a  small  Greek  Boat,  I 
made  him  carry  me  to  Melo,  where  I  could  be  safe; 
but  there  not  being  able  to  subsist  without  Money,  I 
set  on  a  new  Project,  and  having  got  another  small 
Boat  for  our  selves,  I  was  resolv'd  to  sail  for  Smyrna : 
But  herein  I  was  frustrated  again,  for  under  Cherfo, 
meeting  with  five  half  Galleys  belonging  to  Stancu, 
it  appeared  worse  and  worse  for  us:  For  now  we 
thought  we  should  be  sold  to  Matsa  Mama  at 
Rhodes;  yet  It  fell  out  better  than  we  expected,  the 
Turks  proving  to  be  very  kind,  and  never  fettered  us: 
So  we  went  for  Samos,  from  whence  having  been  now 
five  Days  in  their  Custody,  I,  with  the  Boy  on  my 
Back,  committed  my  self  to  the  Mercy  of  the  Sea  in 
the  Night  and  got  ashore.     But  there  being  many  of 


' 


THE  CORSAIRS  199 

the  Turks,  I  was  afraid  to  stir,  and  so  lay  In  the 
Crevices  of  a  Rock  6  Days  and  Nights  together,  not 
daring  to  move,  for  fear  of  being  retaken;  and  all  the 
Sustenance  we  had  there,  was  three  Dew  Snails,  and 
some  Roots  of  wild  Weeds.  But  at  length  we  saw  the 
half  Galleys  go  away,  though  by  this  time  the  Young- 
ster was  almost  dead,  and  my  self  little  better: 
However,  I  could  stand  and  go  a  little,  but  the  Boy 
was  not  able  to  budge.  We  were  remote  from  any 
Village,  yet  I  would  fain  have  carried  the  Lad  to  that 
which  was  next,  but  we  fell  sometimes  both  together; 
then  I  dragg'd  him  a  ll<ttle  way,  but  was  so  faint  that  I 
was  quickly  forc'd  to  rest  my  self.  Yet  at  length 
meeting  with  a  poor  Greek,  with  one  Ass  laden  with 
Wood,  and  another  unladen;  after  having  some  Dis- 
course with  him,  (telling  him  who  we  were,  and  how 
we  came  thither)  he  took  pitty  on  us,  and  put  the 
Boy  upon  one  Ass,  and  Me  on  the  other,  leaving  his 
Wood  behind  him,  and  brought  us  to  the  Monastery 
at  Samos.  There  for  12  Days  the  Friars  took  great 
care  of  us,  and  saw  us  safely  sent  for  Smyrna,  by  a 
French  ship :  Where,  God  be  thanked,  I  thought  my 
self  in  Paradise  to  be  at  Liberty;  which  I  pray  God  to 
preserve  to  every  Man,  and  more  particularly  a  De- 
liverance out  of  a  Crusal. 

Being  safely  arrived  at  Smyrna,  I  could  get  never 
a  Voyage,  save  with  the  French,  with  whom  I  refused 
to  embarque,  but  waited  with  Patience,  till  at  last  I 
obtained  the  Favour  of  a  Passage  with  a  Venetian 
Merchant-Man,  that  lay  here  with  Arragon  Colours, 
which  they  are  free  to  Trade  with,  and  was  bound  for 
Leghorn,  wherein  we  sailed  from  Smyrna,  Decemb. 


200  GREAT  PIRATE  STORIES 

26.  1693.  unci  arriv'd  at  I.cyhorn,  March  the  19th 
Ditto,  being  almost  three  Months  on  our  Passage,  and 
were  put  hack  to  one  hole  or  another  19  times;  and 
that  added  much  to  my  Iixperience  on  the  Coast  of 
Morea;  which  is  call'd  by  the  Inhabitants  the  King- 
dom of  Morea.  This  within  this  13  Years  was 
wholly  Inhabited,  Governed,  and  Possessed  by  the 
Turks;  but  all  is  now  Conquered  by  the  Venetians, 
Governed  by  them,  and  Inhabited  with  Greeks  and 
Albane/,es:  The  chiefest  of  whose  Towns  and  For- 
tifications are  as  follows,  vis,  Castle  Nova,  St.  Maura, 
Castle  Tiirneze,  Corinth,  Old  and  Ne-u;  Navarine, 
Modon,  Coron,  Napoli  di  Malvasia,  Napoli  di  Ro- 
mania, where  all  the  Venetian  Armada  is  kept,  and 
where  the  Camp  Rendezvouses,  when  drawn  up. 

The  City  of  Argos  is  at  the  Head  of  Napoli  di  Ro- 
mania Bay,  standing  on  a  High  Hill,  but  now  it  is  all 
level  with  the  Ground,  only  one  old  Church  is  stand- 
ing still,  for  a  Memorial  of  what  the  Place  has  been. 

Being  now  got  to  Leghorn  with  the  aforesaid  Ve- 
netian, I  there  disbarqued,  and  having  wrought  13 
Months  more  for  Experience,  I  shipp'd  my  self  on 
Board  Captain  George  Littlefare,  Commander  of  the 
good  Ship  the  Golden  Fortune,  bound  for  Smirna, 
wherein  we  sailed  from  Leghorn,  June  20.  1694.  in 
Company  with  Capt.  Henry  Mart  of  Bristol,  who  was 
bound  for  Galipoli,  in  the  good  Ship  the  Leopard, 
and  at  Messina  parted;  where  we  made  a  stay  for 
two  or  three  Days  and  Nights,  and  then  sailed  away, 
having  a  quick  Passage  as  high  as  Napoli  di  Romania, 
and  the  Wind  overblowing  N.N.E.  We  put  into 
that  Port,  where  we  found  the  Venetian  Armado,  was 


THE  CORSAIRS  201 

a  fitting  out  for  some  Expedition,  and  bound  to  the 
Eastward.  We  tarried  here  till  they  sailed  and  put 
out  with  them,  which  consisted  of  22  Men  of  War, 
•23  Venetian  Gallies,  7  Malteze  Gallies,  5  Popes 
Gallies,  6  Venetian  Galliasses,  and  12  half  Gallies  and 
Brigantines,  2  Bomb  Ketches,  and  5  Merchant  Ships 
with  Provisions,  Soldiers,  Horses,  and  other  Lumber, 
as  Field-Pieces,  &"€. 

When  we  got  among  the  Isles,  the  Wind  took  us 
short,  and  we  all  put  in  for  Ferniia  or  Ferfnina,  and 
having  a  Slatch,  we  weighed  from  hence  again,  and 
went  for  Andrea,  all  Hands  aloft.  There  we  an- 
chored and  staid  ten  days.  From  thence  we  sailed 
for  TinOj  and  having  lain  at  that  Place  ten  Days,  there 
came  a  Greek  Boat  on  board  of  us;  which  was  ordered 
by  Consul  Raye  of  Smyrna  from  Scio  to  come  in  search 
for  us,  having  Letters  to  inform  us,  how  all  things 
went,  and  that  there  was  a  Fr.  Man  of  36  Guns  cruised 
for  us,  between  Cape  Calaberno  and  Scio,  and  that 
therefore  we  should  continue  with  the  Armado,  till 
farther  Orders,  which  we  did.  This  Greek  Messen- 
ger ask'd  our  Captain,  where  the  Venetian  Fleet  was 
going,  but  we  answered  him,  we  could  not  tell,  though 
we  thought  for  Negropont.  From  us  he  went  on 
board  the  Captain  General,  and  informed  him,  That 
the  Turks  were  all  gpne  from  Scio  to  Negropont  to 
fortifie  it,  as  suspecting  the  Venetians  coming  thither. 
Whereupon  this  being  Sunday,  August  27.  1694.  on 
Monday  Morning  we  weighed  the  whole  Fleet,  having 
little  Wind,  and  kept  all  our  Sails  furled,  so  that  the 
General  commanded  a  Galley  to  tow  each  Ship,  and 
we  bore  away  for  Scio. 


202  (iREAT  PIRATE  STORIES 

Now  the  reason  of  our  Towing  was  to  keep  our 
selves  furled  that  we  mij^ht  not  be  discovered  from 
Sc'to,  the  same  heinji;  from  Tino  but  Twenty  Leagues. 
Insomuch  that  by  'I'ueschiy  the  29tli  of  /liiyusl  afore- 
said, in  tlie  Morning  we  hiy  fair  under  the  'I  own,  all 
Hands,  not  discovered  over  Night,  by  the  blind  Ma- 
hometans. 

Now,  as  to  tiic  manner  of  taking  this  Place,  it  was 
thus. 

The  Ships  lay  distant  from  the  Town  three  Miles; 
the  CJallies  within  them,  between  them  and  the  Town; 
and  the  Galleasses  right  before  the  Town,  the  half 
Gallies  being  here  and  there  upon  the  Scout  round  the 
Island,  to  keep  the  Turks  from  making  their  I'lscape, 
As  for  us,  we  with  our  English  Merchant  Man,  lay 
abreast  the  Town,  and  saw  fair  Play. 

On  Wednesday  {August  30.)  in  went  the  Malteze 
and  Pope's  Gallies,  and  cleared  the  Suburbs  to  Land 
their  Men,  which  they  did  effectually  with  their  Cushee 
Pieces  in  an  Hours  time.  And  by  two  of  the  Clock 
in  the  Afternoon  they  had  Fourteen  Thousand  Men 
ashore.  Horse  and  Foot,  and  by  Five  of  the  Clock, 
were  marched  round  the  Town  and  fought. 

Thursday  {August  31.)  they  got  several  Field 
Pieces  ashore,  and  fought  all  Day  smartly. 

Friday  {September  i.)  they  landed  six  Mortar- 
Pieces,  placed  them  to  good  Advantage,  about  Noon 
began  to  Play,  and  Bombarded  all  Night,  and  on 
Saturday  all  Day.  They  made  several  Breaches  in 
the  Wall,  yet  the  Turks  held  it  out  stoutly :  But  be- 
fore Night  they  beat  a  small  Out  Fort  to  the  Ground, 
and  300  Turks  being  yet  alive  in  it,  came  and  sur- 


THE  CORSAIRS  203 

rendered  themselves  to  the  Venetian.  The  same 
Night  about  1 1  a  Clock,  an  unfortunate  Bomb  fell 
into  a  large  Magazine  that  was  full  thwacked  with 
Flax,  Cotton,  i^c.  all  which  took  fire,  and  burnt  all  the 
East  Part  of  the  Town,  the  Turks  remaining  in  the 
Cittadel,  which  was  in  the  middle  of  the  Place;  and 
the  Christians  to  the  Westward:  The  Turks  had 
now  the  Fire  on  one  side,  &  the  Enemy  on  'tother, 
and  'emselves  in  the  midst;  which  made  their  Case 
such,  that  if  they  run  to  the  one,  they  must  become 
Slaves,  and  if  they  continued  there  they  would  be 
burned:  So  that  this  Horror  caused  them  to  slacken 
their  Hands,  and  to  fire  but  now  and  then.  The 
Christians  seeing  that,  fired  faster  than  before: 
However,  they  continued  in  this  Posture  from  Satur- 
day at  II  at  Night,  being  the  2d,  to  Wednesday  the 
6th ;  when  they  surrendered  about  3  Afternoon. 
Then  the  Venetians  entred  the  Cittadel,  and  the  Turks 
came  out.  The  Malteze  hoisted  his  Standard  at  the 
East-end,  and  the  Popes  General  hoisted  his  Standard 
on  the  West-end  of  the  Town:  But  they  had  much 
adoe  to  quench  the  Fire;  and  before  'twas  quite  put 
out,  above  one  third  Part  of  the  Town  was  destroyed. 
What  Men  the  Turks  lost  is  not  known,  but  the  Vene- 
tians loss  was  very  small:  Twelve  of  them  that  was 
out  upon  a  Party,  the  first  Night  were  unawares  beset 
by  about  100  Turks,  and  became  a  Prey  to  them. 
The  Venetians  took  In  the  Mould  three  Gallles,  and  in 
them  and  the  Town  redeemed  2000  Christian  Slaves: 
But  during  the  whole  design,  the  Venetian  Ships  never 
fired  a  Gun,  nor  were  within  Shot  of  the  Place,  no 
more  did  the  Galleasses  neither;  but  soon  after  they 


204  GREAT  PIRATE  STORIES 

put  to  Sea,  and  chased  the  whole  Turkish  Fleet  into 
Smyrna;  and  had  it  not  been  for  the  Factory,  could 
have  destroyed  them  every  Ship:  But  some  3  or  4 
Months  after,  the  Fleets  fought  and  the  Venetians 
had  two  I''lags  sunk,  besides  a  private  Ship  of  60 
Guns:  But  how  successful  soever  tlie  Con(juest  of 
this  Island  proved  now  to  the  Venetians,  they  lost  it 
again  in  February  following,  and  left  700  Slaves 
ashore,  and  a  Ship  in  the  Mould  of  700  Tuns,  laden 
with  Ammunition,  Field-Pieces,  Bombs,  efc.  But  I 
being  then  at  Smirna,  saw  it  not,  and  therefore  can 
give  no  exact  Account  how  it  was  acted. 

From  hence  forward  I  used  the  Levant  Voyages, 
from  Livorno,  with  the  English  and  Dutch,  until 
April  7.  1696.  I  was  pressed  on  Board  His  Majes- 
ty's Ship  the  Glocester,  and  in  her  I  came  for  England, 
under  the  Command  of  Captain  Tho.  Poulton,  and 
arriv'd  in  the  Dozens,  March  6.  1696-7,  being  the 
first  time  I  saw  the  English  Shoar  in  5  Years,  5 
Months  and  19  Days  time. 


THE  BUCCANEERS 

[From  "The  Monarchs  of  the  Main,"  by 
G.  W.  Thornbury] 

THE  Flibustiers  first  began  by  associating  to- 
gether in  bands  of  from  fifteen  to  twenty 
men.  Each  of  them  carried  the  Buccaneer 
musket,  holding  a  ball  of  sixteen  to  the  pound,  and 
had  generally  pistols  at  his  belt,  holding  bullets  of 
twenty  or  twenty-four  to  the  pound,  and  besides  this 
they  wore  a  good  sabre  or  cutlass.  When  collected 
at  some  preconcerted  rendezvous,  generally  a  key  or 
small  island  off  Cuba,  they  elected  a  captain,  and  em- 
barked in  a  canoe,  hollowed  out  of  the  trunk  of  a 
single  tree  in  the  Indian  manner.  This  canoe  was 
either  bought  by  the  association  or  the  captain.  If 
the  latter,  they  agreed  to  give  him  the  first  ship  they 
should  take.  As  soon  as  they  had  all  signed  the 
charter-party,  or  mutual  agreement,  they  started  for 
the  destined  port  off  which  they  were  to  cruise.  The 
first  Spanish  vessel  they  took  served  to  repay  the 
captain  and  recompense  themselves.  They  dressed 
themselves  in  the  rich  robes  of  Castilian  grandees 
over  their  own  blooded  shirts,  and  sat  down  to  revel 
in  the  gilded  saloon  of  the  galleon.  If  they  found 
their  prize  not  seaworthy,  they  would  take  her  to 
some  small  sand  island  and  careen,  while  the  crew 
helped  the  Indians  to  turn  turtle,  and  to  procure  bull's 

205 


206  GREAT  PIRATE  STORIES 

flesh.  The  Spanish  crew  they  kept  to  assist  In  ca- 
reening, for  they  never  worked  themselves,  but 
fought  and  hunted  while  the  unfortunate  prisoners 
were  toiling  round  the  fire  where  the  pitch  boiled,  or 
the  turtle  was  stewing.  The  Ilibustiers  divided  the 
spoil  as  soon  as  each  one  had  taken  an  oath  that  noth- 
ing had  been  secreted.  When  the  ship  was  ready  for 
sea,  they  let  the  Spaniards  go,  and  kept  only  the 
slaves.  If  there  were  no  negroes  or  Indians,  they  re- 
tained a  few  Spaniards  to  wait  upon  them.  If  the 
prisoners  were  men  of  consequence,  they  detained 
them  till  they  could  obtain  a  ransom.  Every  Flibus- 
tier  brought  a  certain  supply  of  powder  and  ball  for 
the  common  stock.  Before  starting  on  an  expedition 
it  was  a  common  thing  to  plunder  a  Spanish  hog-yard, 
where  a  thousand  swine  were  often  collected,  sur- 
rounding the  keeper's  lodge  at  night,  and  shooting 
him  If  he  made  any  resistance.  The  tortoise  fisher- 
men were  often  forced  to  fish  for  them  gratuitously, 
although  nearly  every  ship  had  its  Mosquito  Indian 
to  strike  turtle  and  sea-cow,  and  to  fish  for  the  whole 
boat's  crew.  "No  prey,  no  pay,"  was  the  Buccaneers' 
motto.  The  charter^arty  specified  the  salary  of  the 
captain,  surgeon,  and  carpenter,  and  allowed  200 
pieces  of  eight  for  victualling.  The  boys  had  but  half 
a  share,  although  it  was  either  their  duty  or  the  sur- 
geon's, when  the  rest  had  boarded,  to  remain  behind 
to  fire  the  former  vessel,  and  then  retire  to  the  prize. 

The  Buccaneer  code,  worthy  of  Napoleon  or  Jus- 
tinian, was  equal  to  the  statutes  of  any  land,  Insomuch 
as  It  answered  the  want  of  those  for  whom  It  was 
compiled,  and  seldom  required  either  revision  or  en- 


THE  BUCCANEERS  207 

largement.  It  was  never  appealed  from,  and  was 
seldom  found  to  be  unjust  or  severe. 

The  captain  was  allowed  five  or  six  shares,  the  mas- 
ter's mate  only  two,  and  the  other  officers  in  propor- 
tion, down  to  the  lowest  mariner.  All  acts  of  special 
bravery  or  merit  were  rewarded  by  special  grants. 
The  man  who  first  caught  sight  of  a  prize  received  a 
hundred  crowns.  The  sailor  who  struck  down  the 
enemy's  captain,  and  the  first  boarder  who  reached  the 
enemy's  deck,  were  also  distinguished  by  honours. 
The  surgeon,  always  a  great  man  among  a  crew  whose 
lives  so  often  depended  on  his  skill,  received  200 
crowns  to  supply  his  medicine  chest.  If  they  took  a 
prize,  he  had  a  share  like  the  rest.  If  they  had  no 
money  to  give  him,  he  was  rewarded  with  two  slaves. 

The  loss  of  an  eye  was  recompensed  at  100  crowns, 
or  one  slave. 

The  loss  of  both  eyes  with  600  crowns,  or  six 
slaves. 

The  loss  of  a  right  hand  or  right  leg  at  200  crowns, 
or  two  slaves. 

The  loss  of  both  hands  or  legs  at  600  crowns,  or 
six  slaves. 

The  loss  of  a  finger  or  toe  at  100  crowns,  or  one 
slave. 

The  loss  of  a  foot  or  leg  at  200  crowns,  or  two 
slaves. 

The  loss  of  both  legs  at  600  crowns,  or  six  slaves. 

Nothing  but  death  seems  to  have  been  considered 
as  worth  recompensing  with  more  than  600  crowns. 
For  any  wound,  which  compelled  a  sailor  to  carry  a 
canulus,  200  crowns  were  given,  or  two  slaves.     If  a 


208  GREAT  PIRATE  STORIES 

man  had  not  even  lost  a  member,  but  was  for  the  pres- 
ent deprived  of  tlie  use  of  it,  he  was  still  entitled  to 
his  compensation  as  much  as  if  he  had  lost  it  alto- 
gether. The  maimed  were  allowed  to  take  either 
money  or  slaves. 

The  charter-party  drawn  up  by  Sir  Henry  Morgan 
before  his  famous  expedition,  which  ended  in  the  plun- 
der and  destruction  of  Panama,  shows  several  modifi- 
cations of  the  earlier  contract. 

To  him  who  struck  the  enemy's  flag,  and  planted  the 
Buccaneers',  fifty  piastres  besides  his  share. 

To  him  who  took  a  prisoner  who  brought  tidings, 
lOO  piastres,  besides  his  share. 

For  every  grenade  thrown  into  an  enemy's  port- 
hole, five  piastres. 

To  him  who  took  an  officer  of  rank  at  the  risk  of 
his  life,  proportionate  reward. 

To  him  who  lost  two  legs,  500  crowns,  or  fifteen 
slaves. 

To  him  who  lost  two  arms,  800  piastres,  or  eighteen 
slaves. 

To  him  who  lost  one  leg  or  one  arm,  500  piastres, 
or  six  slaves. 

To  him  who  lost  an  eye,  100  piastres,  or  one  slave. 

For  both  eyes,  200  piastres,  or  two  slaves. 

For  the  loss  of  a  finger,  100  piastres,  or  one  slave. 
A  Flibustier  who  had  a  limb  crippled,  received  the 
same  pay  as  if  it  was  lost.  A  wound  requiring  an 
issue,  was  recompensed  with  500  piastres,  or  five 
slaves.  These  shares  were  all  allotted  before  the 
general  division.  If  a  vessel  was  taken  at  sea,  its 
cargo  was  divided  among  the  whole  fleet,  but  the  crew 


THE  BUCCANEERS  209 

first  boarding  it  received  lOO  crowns,  if  its  value  ex- 
ceeded 10,000  crowns,  and  for  every  10,000  crowns' 
worth  of  cargo,  100  went  to  the  men  that  boarded. 
The  surgeon  received  200  piastres,  besides  his  share. 

The  Mosquito  Indians  were  the  helots  of  the  Buc- 
caneers; they  employed  them  to  catch  fish,  and  their 
vessels  had  generally  a  small  canoe,  kept  for  their  use, 
in  which  they  might  strike  tortoise  or  manitee.  These 
Indians  used  no  oars,  but  a  pair  of  broad-bladed 
paddles,  which  they  held  perpendicularly,  grasping 
the  staff  with  both  hands  and  putting  back  the  water 
by  sheer  strength,  and  with  very  quick,  short  strokes. 
Two  men  generally  went  in  the  same  boat,  the  one 
sitting  in  the  stern,  the  other  kneeling  down  in  the 
head.  They  both  paddled  softly  till  they  approached 
the  spot  where  their  prey  lay;  they  then  remained  still, 
looking  very  warily  about  them,  and  the  one  at  the 
head  then  rose  up,  with  his  striking-staff  in  his  hand. 
This  weapon  was  about  eight  feet  long,  almost  as 
thick  as  a  man's  arm  at  the  larger  end,  at  which  there 
was  a  hole  into  which  the  harpoon  was  put;  at  the 
other  extremity  was  placed  a  piece  of  light  (bob) 
wood,  with  a  hole  in  it,  through  which  the  small  end 
of  the  staff  came.  On  this  bob  wood  a  line  of  ten  or 
twelve  fathoms  was  neatly  wound — the  end  of  the  one 
line  being  fastened  to  the  wood,  and  the  other  to  the 
harpoon,  the  man  keeping  about  a  fathom  of  it  loose 
in  his  hand.  When  he  struck,  the  harpoon  came  off 
the  shaft,  and,  as  the  wounded  fish  swam  away,  the 
line  ran  off  from  the  reel.  Although  the  bob  and  line 
were  frequently  dragged  deep  under  water,  and  often 
caught  round  coral  branches  or  sunk  wreck,   it  gen- 


210  GREAT  PIRATE  STORIES 

erally  rose  to  the  surface  of  the  water.  The  Indians 
struggled  to  recover  the  bob,  which  they  were  ac- 
custoiTieil  to  do  in  about  a  quarter  of  an  hour. 

When  the  sea-cow  ^rew  tired  and  be^an  to  lie  still, 
they  drew  in  the  line,  and  the  monster,  feeling  the 
harpoon  a  second  time,  would  often  make  a  maddened 
rush  at  the  canoe.  It  then  became  necessary  that  the 
steersman  should  be  nimble  in  turning  the  head  of  the 
canoe  the  way  his  companion  pointed,  as  he  alone  was 
able  to  see  and  feel  the  way  the  manitee  was  swim- 
ming. Directly  the  fish  grew  tired,  they  hauled  in  the 
line,  which  the  vexed  creature  drew  out  again  a  do/en 
times  with  ferocious  but  impotent  speed.  When  its 
strength  grew  quite  exhausted,  they  would  drag  it  up 
the  side  of  their  boat  and  knock  it  on  the  head,  or, 
pulling  it  to  the  shore,  made  it  fast  while  they  went  out 
to  strike  another.  From  the  great  size  of  a  sea-cow 
it  was  always  necessary  to  go  to  shore  in  order  to  get 
It  safely  into  their  boats;  hauling  it  up  in  shoal  water, 
they  upset  their  canoes,  and  then  rolling  the  fish  in 
righted  again  with  the  weight.  The  Indians  some- 
times paddled  one  home,  and  towed  the  other  after 
them.  Dampierre  says  he  knew  two  Indians,  who 
every  day  for  a  week  brought  two  manitee  on  board 
his  ship,  the  least  not  weighing  less  than  six  hundred 
pounds,  and  yet  In  so  small  a  canoe  that  three  English- 
men could  row  it. 

If  the  fisherman  struck  a  sea-cow  that  had  a  calf 
they  generally  captured  both — the  mother  carrying 
the  young  under  her  side  fins,  and  always  regarding 
their  safety  before  her  own;  the  young,  moreover, 
would  seldom  desert  their  mother,  and  would  follow 


THE  BUCCANEERS  211 

the  canoe  In  spite  of  noise  and  blows.  The  least 
sound  startled  the  manitee,  but  the  turtles  required 
less  care.  These  fish  had  certain  islands  near  Cuba 
which  they  chose  to  lay  their  eggs  in.  At  certain 
seasons  they  came  from  the  gulf  of  Honduras  in  such 
vast  multitudes,  that  ships,  which  had  lost  their  lati- 
tude, very  often  steered  at  night,  following  the  sound 
of  these  clattering  shoals.  When  they  had  been  about 
a  month  in  the  Caribbean  sea  they  grew  fat,  and  the 
fishing  commenced.  Salt  turtle  was  the  Buccaneers' 
healthiest  food,  and  was  supposed  to  free  them  from 
all  the  ailments  of  debauchery.  The  Indians  struck 
the  turtle  with  a  short,  sharp,  triangular-headed  iron, 
not  more  than  an  inch  long,  which  fitted  into  a  spear 
handle.  The  lance  head  was  loose  and  had  the  usual 
line  attached.  Their  lines  they  made  of  the  fibrous 
bark  of  a  tree,  which  they  also  used  for  their  rigging. 

The  manitee,  or  sea-cow,  was  a  favourite  article  of 
food  with  these  wandering  seamen.  It  was  a  monster 
as  big  as  a  horse,  and  as  unwieldy  as  a  walrus,  with 
eyes  not  much  larger  than  peas,  and  a  head  like  a  cow. 
Its  flesh  was  white,  sweet,  and  wholesome.  The  tail 
of  a  young  fish  was  a  dainty,  and  a  young  sucking-calf, 
roasted,  was  an  epicure's  morsel.  The  head  and  tail 
of  older  animals  were  tough,  yet  the  belly  was  fre- 
quently eaten. 

Dampierre  speaks  of  his  companions  feasting  on 
pork  and  peas,  and  beef  and  doughboys,  and  this 
nautical  coarseness  was  generally  found  associated 
with  occasional  tropical  luxuriousness.  In  cases  of 
necessity,  wrecked  sailors  fed  on  sharks,  which  they 
first  boiled  and  then  squeezed  dry,  and  stewed  with 


212  GREAT  PIRATE  STORIES 

pepper  and  vinegar.  The  oil  of  turtle  they  used  in- 
stead of  butter  for  their  ilumplinj^s.  The  best  turtle 
were  said  to  be  those  that  fed  on  land;  those  that  lived 
on  sea-weed,  and  not  on  grass,  being  yellow  and  rank, 
riie  larger  fish  needed  two  men  to  turn  them  on  their 
backs.  The  Elibustiers  also  ate  the  iguanas,  or  large 
South  American  lizards.  Vast  flocks  of  doves  were 
found  in  many  of  the  islands,  sometimes  in  such  abund- 
ance that  a  sailor  could  knock  down  five  or  six  dozen 
of  an  afternoon. 

The  Buccaneers'  history  is  a  singular  example  of 
how  evil  generates  evil.  The  Spaniards  destroyed  the 
wild  cattle,  and  the  hunters  turned  freebooters. 
Spain  discontinued  trading  to  prevent  piracy,  and  the 
adventurers,  starved  for  want  of  gold,  made  descents 
upon  the  mainland.  The  evil  grew  by  degrees  till  the 
worm  they  had  at  first  trod  upon  arose  in  their  path 
an  indestructible  and  devastating  monster  of  a  hun- 
dred heads.  First  single  ships,  then  fleets,  were  swept 
off  by  these  locusts  of  the  deep;  first,  islands  were 
burnt,  then  villages  sacked,  and  at  last  cities  con- 
quered. First  the  North  and  then  the  South  Pacific 
were  visited,  till  the  whole  coast  from  Panama  to 
Cape  Horn  trembled  at  the  very  flutter  of  their  flag. 
The  first  Flibustier,  Lewis  Scott,  scared  Campeachy 
with  a  few  canoes.  Grognet  grappled  the  Lima  fleet 
with  a  whole  squadron  of  pirate  craft.  The  Bucca- 
neer spirit  arose  from  revenge,  and  ended  in  robbery 
and  murder.  At  first  fierce  but  merciful,  they  grew 
rapacious,  loathsome,  and  bloody.  Their  early  chiv- 
alry forsook  them — they  sank  into  the  enemies  of  God 
and  all  mankind,  and  the  last  refuse  of  them  expired 


THE  BUCCANEERS  213 

on  the  gallows  of  Jamaica,  children  of  Cain,  unpltied 
by  any,  their  very  courage  despised,  and  their  crimes 
detested.  At  their  culminating  point,  united  under 
the  sway  of  one  great  mind,  they  might  have  formed 
a  large  empire  In  South  America,  or  conquered  it  as 
tributaries  to  France  or  England,  Always  thirsty  for 
gold,  they  were  often  chivalrous,  generous.  Intrepid, 
merciful,  and  disinterested. 

A  greater  evil  soon  cured  the  lesser.  The  Span- 
iards, dreading  robbery  worse  than  death,  ceased  in  a 
great  measure  to  trade.  The  poorer  merchants  were 
ruined  by  the  loss  of  a  single  cocoa  vessel;  the  richer 
waited  for  t*he  convoy  of  the  plate  fleets,  or  followed 
In  the  wake  of  the  galleon,  hoping  to  escape  if  she 
was  captured,  as  the  chickens  do  when  the  hen  goes 
cajckling  up  in  the  claws  of  the  kite.  For  every  four 
vessels  that  once  sailed  not  more  than  one  could  be 
now  seen.  What  with  the  war  of  France  on  Holland> 
and  England  on  France,  and  all  on  Spain,  there  was 
little  safety  for  the  poor  trader.  Yet  those  who 
could  risk  a  loss  still  made  great  profits.  This  cessa- 
tion of  trade  was  a  poor  remedy  against  the  sea  rob- 
ber: It  was  to  rob  oneself  Instead  of  being  robbed,  to 
commit  suicide  for  fear  of  murder.  It  was  a  remedy 
that  saved  life,  but  rendered  life  hateful.  The  Buc- 
caneers, starving  for  want  of  prey,  remained  moodily 
in  the  rocky  fastnesses  of  Tortuga,  like  famished 
eagles  looking  down  on  a  country  they  have  devas- 
tated. To  accomplish  greater  feats  they  united  in 
bodies,  and  made  forays  on  the  coast.  They  had  be- 
fore remained  at  the  threshold — they  now  rushed 
headlong  Into  the  sanctuary,  and  they  got  their  bread. 


214  (.HEAT  PIRATE  STORIES 

or  rather  other  people's  bread,  by  daring  dashes  and 
surprises  of  towns,  leaving  them  only  when  wrapped 
in  flames  or  swept  by  the  pestilence  that  always  fol- 
lowed in  their  train. 

We  may  chiim  for  our  own  nation  the  first  pioneer 
In  this  new  field  of  enterprise.  Lewis  Scott,  an  Eng- 
lishman, led  the  way  by  sacking  the  town  of  St.  Fran- 
cisco, in  Campeachy,  and,  compelling  the  inhabitants 
to  pay  a  ransom,  returned  safely  to  Jamaica.  Where 
the  carcase  is  tliere  will  the  eagles  be  gathered  to- 
gether, for  no  sooner  had  his  sails  grown  small  in  the 
distance  than  Mansweld,  another  Buccaneer,  made 
several  successful  descents  upon  the  same  luckless 
coast,  unfortunate  in  its  very  fertility.  He  then 
equipped  a  fleet  and  attempted  to  return  by  the  king- 
dom of  New  Granada  to  the  South  Sea,  passing  the 
town  of  Carthagena.  This  scheme  failed  in  conse- 
quence of  a  dispute  arising  between  the  French  and 
English  crews,  who  were  always  quarrelling  over  their 
respective  share  of  provisions;  but  In  spite  of  this  he 
took  the  Island  of  St.  Catherine,  and  attempted  to 
found  a  Buccaneer  state. 

John  Davis,  a  Dutchman,  excelled  both  his  prede- 
cessors In  daring.  Cruising  about  Jamaica  he  became 
a  scourge  to  all  the  Spanish  mariners  who  ventured 
near  the  coasts  of  the  Caraccas,  or  his  favourite 
haunts,  Carthagena  and  the  Boca  del  Toro,  where  he 
lay  wait  for  vessels  bound  to  Nicaragua.  One  day  he 
missed  his  shot,  and  having  a  long  time  traversed  the 
sea  and  taken  nothing — a  failure  which  generally 
drove  these  brave  men  to  some  desperate  expedient 
to   repair   their   sinking   fortunes — he    resolved   with 


THE  BUCCANEERS  215 

ninety  men  to  visit  the  lagoon  of  Nicaragua,  and  sack 
the  town  of  Granada.  An  Indian  from  the  shores  of 
the  lagoon  promised  to  guide  him  safely  and  secretly; 
and  his  crew,  with  one  voice,  declared  themselves 
ready  to  follow  him  wherever  he  led.  By  night  he 
rowed  thirty  leagues  up  the  river,  to  the  entry  of  the 
lake,  and  concealed  his  ships  under  the  boughs  of  the 
trees  that  grew  upon  the  banks;  then  putting  eighty 
men  in  his  three  canoes  he  rowed  on  to  the  town,  leav- 
ing ten  sailors  to  guard  the  vessels.  By  day  they  hid 
under  the  trees;  at  night  they  pushed  on  towards  the 
unsuspecting  town,  and  reached  it  on  the  third  mid- 
night— taking  it,  as  he  had  expected,  without  a  blow 
and  by  surprise.  To  a  sentinel's  challenge  they  re- 
plied that  they  were  fishermen  returning  home,  and 
two  of  the  crew,  leaping  on  shore,  ran  their  swords 
through  the  interrogator,  to  stop  further  questions 
which  might  have  been  less  easily  answered.  Follow- 
ing their  guide  they  reached  a  small  covered  way  that 
led  to  the  right  of  the  town,  while  another  Indian 
towed  their  canoes  to  a  point  to  which  they  had  agreed 
each  man  should  bring  his  booty. 

As  soon  as  they  arrived  at  the  town  they  separated 
into  small  bands,  and  were  led  one  by  one  to  the 
houses  of  the  richest  inhabitants.  Here  they  quietly 
knocked,  and,  being  admitted  as  friends,  seized  the 
Inmates  by  the  throat  and  compelled  them,  on  pain  of 
death,  to  surrender  all  the  money  and  jewels  that  they 
had.  They  then  roused  the  sacristans  of  the  princi- 
pal churches,  from  whom  they  took  the  keys  and 
carried  off  all  the  altar  plate  that  could  be  beaten  up 
or   rendered   portable.     The   pixes   they   stripped   of 


216  GREAT  PIRATE  STORIES 

their  ^cms,  gouged  out  the  jewelled  eyes  of  virgin 
idols,  and  lianunered  up  the  sacramental  cups  into  con- 
venient lumps  oi  metal. 

This  quiet  and  undisturbed  pillage  had  lasted  for 
two  hours  without  a  struggle,  when  some  servants,  es- 
caping from  the  adventurers,  began  to  ring  the  alarm 
bells  to  warn  the  town,  while  a  few  of  the  already 
plundered  citi/cns,  breaking  into  the  market-place, 
filled  the  streets  with  uproar  and  affright.  Davis,  see- 
ing that  the  inhabitants  were  beginning  to  rally  from 
that  panic  which  had  alone  secured  his  victory,  com- 
menced a  retreat,  as  the  enemy  were  now  gathering 
in  armed  and  threatening  numbers.  In  a  hollow 
square,  with  their  booty  in  the  centre,  the  Buccaneers 
fought  their  way  to  their  boats,  amid  tumultuous  war- 
cries  and  shouts  of  derision  and  exultation.  In  spite 
of  their  haste,  they  were  prudent  enough  to  carry  with 
them  some  rich  Spaniards,  intending  to  exchange  them 
for  any  of  their  own  men  they  might  lose  in  their  re- 
treat. On  regaining  their  ships  they  compelled  these 
prisoners  to  send  them  as  a  ransom  500  cows,  with 
which  they  revictualled  their  ships  for  the  passage 
back  to  Jamaica.  They  had  scarcely  well  weighed 
anchor  before  they  saw  600  mounted  Spaniards  dash 
down  to  the  shore  in  the  hopes  of  arresting  their  re- 
treat. A  few  broadsides  were  the  parting  greetings 
of  these  unwelcome  visitors. 

This  expedition  was  accomplished  in  eight  days. 
The  booty  consisted  of  coined  money  and  bullion 
amounting  to  about  40,000  crowns.  Esquemeling 
computes  it  at  4,000  pieces   of  eight,   and  in  ready 


THE  BUCCANEERS  217 

money,  plate,  and  jewels  to  about  50,000  pieces  of 
eight  more. 

Thus  concluded  this  adventurous  raid,  in  which  a 
town  forty  leagues  inland,  and  containing  at  least  800 
well-armed  defenders,  was  stormed  and  robbed  by 
eighty  resolute  sailors.  Davis  reached  Jamaica  in 
safety  with  his  plunder,  which  was  soon  put  into  wider 
circulation  by  the  aid  of  the  dice,  the  tavern  keepers, 
and  the  courtesans.  The  money  once  expended, 
Davis  was  roused  to  fresh  exertion.  He  associated 
himself  with  two  or  three  other  captains,  who,  super- 
stitiously  relying  on  his  good  fortune,  chose  him  as 
admiral  of  a  small  flotilla  of  eight  or  nine  armed  gun- 
boats. The  less  fortunate  rewarded  him  with  bound- 
less confidence.  His  first  excursion  was  to  the  town 
of  St.  Christopher,  in  Cuba,  to  wait  for  the  fleet  from 
New  Spain,  in  hopes  to  cut  off  some  rich  unwieldy 
straggler.  But  the  fleet  contrived  to  escape  his  senti- 
nels and  pass  untouched.  Davis  then  sallied  forth 
and  sacked  a  small  town  named  St.  Augustine  of  Flor- 
ida, in  spite  of  its  castle  and  garrison  of  100  men. 
He  suffered  little  loss;  but  the  inhabitants  proved  very 
poor,  and  the  booty  was  small. 

In  making  war  against  Spain,  the  hunters  were  mere 
privateersmen  cruising  against  a  national  enemy;  but 
in  their  endurance,  patience,  and  energy,  they  stood 
alone.  In  their  onset — rushing,  singing,  and  dancing 
through  fire  and  flame — they  resembled  rather  the 
old  Barsekars  or  the  first  levies  of  Mohammed.  But 
in  one  point  they  were  very  remarkable;  that  they  did 
more,    and   were    yet    actuated   by   a    lower   motive. 


218  GREAT  TIRATE  STORIES 

Almost  devoid  of  religion,  they  f(jught  with  all  the 
MKuIiicss  of  fanaticism  against  a  people  themselves 
constitutionally  fanatic,  but  already  enervated  by  cli- 
mate, by  sudden  wealth,  and  a  long  experience  of  con- 
taminating luxury.  The  galleons  of  Manilla  were 
their  final  aim,  as  they  gradually  passed  from  the 
devastated  shores  of  South  America  to  the  Philippine 
Islands  and  the  coasts  of  Guinea.  They  had  been  the 
instrument  of  Providence,  and  knew  themselves  so, 
to  avenge  the  wrongs  of  the  Indian  upon  the  Span- 
iard; they  were  soon  to  become  the  first  avengers  of 
the  Negro.  Long  years  of  plunder  had  made  the 
Spaniard  and  the  creole  as  secretive  as  the  Hindu. 
At  the  first  intelligence  of  some  terrified  fisherman,  the 
frightened  townsman  threw  his  pistoles  into  wells, 
mortared  them  up  in  the  wall  of  his  fortresses. 
Laden  mules  were  driven  into  the  interior;  the  women 
fled  to  the  nearest  plantation;  the  old  men  barred 
themselves  up  in  the  church.  Their  first  thought  was 
always  flight;  their  second,  to  turn  and  strike  a  blow 
for  all  they  loved,  valued,  and  revered. 

The  debauchery  of  the  Buccaneers  was  as  un- 
equalled as  their  courage.  QExmelin  relates  a  story 
of  an  Englishman  who  gave  500  crowns  to  his  mis- 
tress at  a  single  revel.  This  man,  who  had  earned 
1,500  crowns  by  exposing  himself  to  desperate  dan- 
gers, was,  within  three  months,  sold  for  a  term  of 
three  years  to  a  planter,  to  discharge  a  tavern  debt 
which  he  could  not  pay.  A  conqueror  of  Panama 
might  be  seen  to-morrow  driven  by  the  overseer's 
whip  among  a  gang  of  slaves,  cutting  sugar  canes, 
or  picking  tobacco. 


THE  BUCCANEERS  219 

Another  Buccaneer,  a  Frenchman,  surnamed  Vent- 
en-Panne,  was  so  addicted  to  play  that  he  lost  every- 
thing but  his  shirt.  Every  pistole  that  he  could  earn 
he  spent  in  this  absorbing  vice — so  tempting  to  men, 
who  longed  for  excitement,  were  indifferent  to  money, 
and  daily  risked  their  lives  for  the  prospect  of  gain. 
On  one  occasion  he  lost  500  crowns,  his  whole  share 
of  some  recent  prize-money,  besides  300  crowns  which 
he  had  borrowed  of  a  comerade  who  would  now  lend 
him  no  more.  Determined  to  try  his  fortune  again, 
he  hired  himself  as  servant  at  the  very  gambling- 
house  where  he  had  been  ruined,  and,  by  lighting  pipes 
for  the  players  and  bringing  them  in  wine,  earned  fifty 
crowns  in  two  days.  He  staked  this,  and  soon  won 
12,000  crowns.  He  then  paid  his  debts  and  resolved 
to  lose  no  more,  shipping  himself  on  board  an  English 
vessel  that  touched  at  Barbadoes.  At  Barbadoes  he 
met  a  rich  Jew  who  offered  to  play  him.  Unable  to 
abstain,  he  sat  down,  and  won  1,300  crowns  and  100,- 
000  lbs.  of  sugar  already  shipped  for  England,  and, 
in  addition  to  this,  a  large  mill  and  sixty  slaves.  The 
Jew,  begging  him  to  stay  and  give  him  his  revenge, 
ran  and  borrowed  some  money,  and  returned  and 
took  up  the  cards.  The  Buccaneer  consented,  more 
from  love  of  play  than  generosity;  and  the  Jew,  put- 
ting down  1,500  jacobuses,  won  back  100  crowns,  and 
finally  all  his  antagonist's  previous  winnings — strip- 
ping him  even  to  the  very  clothes  he  wore.  The  de- 
lighted winner  allowed  him  for  very  shame  to  retain 
his  clothes,  and  gave  him  money  enough  to  return, 
disconsolate  and  beggared,  to  Tortuga.  Becoming 
again  a  Buccaneer,  he  gained  6,000  or  7,000  crowns. 


220  GREAT  PIRATE  STORIES 

M.  D'O^cron,  the  governor,  treating  him  as  a  way- 
ward chilli,  taking  away  his  money,  sent  him  back  to 
France  with  bills  of  exchange  for  the  amount.  Vent- 
cn-Pannc,  now  cured  of  his  vice,  took  to  merchandise; 
but,  always  unfortunate,  was  killed  in  his  first  voyage 
to  the  West  Indies,  his  vessel  being  attacked  by  two 
Ostende  frigates,  of  twenty-four  or  thirty  guns  each, 
which  were  eventually,  however,  driven  off  by  the  dead 
man's  crew  of  only  thirty  Buccaneers. 

When  the  pleasures  of  Tortuga  or  Jamaica  had 
swallowed  up  all  the  hard-earned  winnings  of  these 
men,  they  returned  to  sea,  expending  their  last  pistoles 
in  powder  and  ball,  and  leaving  heavy  scores  still  un- 
settled with  the  cabaretiers.  They  then  hastened  to 
the  quays,  or  small  sandy  islands  off  Cuba,  to  careen 
their  vessels  and  to  salt  turtle.  Sometimes  they  re- 
paired to  Honduras,  where  they  had  Indian  wives; 
latterly,  to  the  Galapagos  isles,  to  the  Boca  del  Toro, 
or  the  coast  of  Castilla  del  Oro, 

Some  Buccaneers,  Esquemeling  says,  would  spend 
3,000  piastres  in  a  night,  not  leaving  themselves  even 
a  shirt  in  the  morning.  "My  own  master,"  he  adds, 
"would  buy  a  whole  pipe  of  wine,  and,  placing  it  in 
the  street,  would  force  every  one  that  passed  by  to 
drink  with  him,  threatening  also  to  pistol  them  in  case 
they  would  not  do  It.  At  other  times  he  would  do 
the  same  with  barrels  of  ale  or  beer;  and  very  often 
with  both  his  hands  he  would  throw  these  liquors 
about  the  street,  and  wet  the  clothes  of  such  as  walked 
by,  without  regard  whether  he  spoiled  their  apparel 
or  not,  or  whether  they  were  men  or  women."  Port 
Royal  was  a  favourite  scene  for  such  carousals. 


THE  BUCCANEERS  221 

Even  as  late  as  1694,  Montauban  gives  us  some 
idea  of  the  wild  debaucheries  committed  by  the  Buc- 
caneers even  at  Bourdeaux.  "My  freebooters,"  he 
says,  "who  had  not  seen  France  for  a  long  time,  find- 
ing themselves  now  in  a  great  city  where  pleasure  and 
plenty  reigned,  were  not  backward  to  refresh  them- 
selves after  the  fatigues  they  had  endured  while  so 
long  absent  from  their  native  country.  They  spent 
a  world  of  money  here,  and  proved  horribly  extrava- 
gant. The  merchants  and  their  hosts  made  no  scruple 
to  advance  them  money,  or  lend  them  as  much  as  they 
pleased,  upon  the  reputation  of  their  wealth  and  the 
noise  there  was  throughout  the  city  of  the  valuable 
prizes  whereof  they  had  a  share.  All  the  nights  they 
spent  in  such  divertisements  as  pleased  them  best;  and 
the  days,  in  running  up  and  down  the  town  in  mas- 
querade, causing  themselves  to  be  carried  in  chairs 
with  lighted  flambeaux  at  noon — of  which  debauches 
some  died,  while  four  of  my  crew  fairly  deserted  me." 

This,  it  must  be  remembered,  was  at  a  time  when 
buccaneering  had  sunk  into  privateering — the  half- 
way house  to  mere  piracy.  The  distinguishing  mark 
of  the  true  Buccaneer  was,  that  he  attacked  none  but 
Spaniards. 

Of  the  Buccaneers'  estimation  of  religion,  Charle- 
voix gives  us  some  curious  accounts.  He  says,  "there 
remained  no  traces  of  it  in  their  heart,  but  still,  some- 
times, from  time  to  time,  they  appeared  to  meditate 
deeply.  They  never  commenced  a  combat  without 
first  embracing  each  other,  in  sign  of  reconciliation. 
They  would  at  such  times  strike  themselves  rudely  on 
the  breast,  as  if  they  wished  to  rouse  some  compunc- 


222  GREAT  PIRATE  STORIES 

tlon  in  their  hearts,  aiitl  were  rujt  able.  Once  es- 
caped from  danger,  they  returned  headlong  to  their 
debauchery,  blasphemy,  and  brigandage.  The  Buc- 
caneers, looking  upon  themselves  as  worthy  fellows, 
regarded  the  Mihustiers  as  wretches,  but  in  reality 
there  was  not  much  difference.  The  Buccaneers  were, 
perhaps,  the  less  vicious,  but  the  Flibustiers  preserved 
a  little  more  of  the  externals  of  religion;  zcith  the  ex- 
ception of  a  certain  honour  among  them,  and  their 
abstinence  from  human  flesh,  few  savages  vcere  more 
wicked,  and  a  great  number  of  them  much  less  so.  ' 

This  passage  shows  a  very  curious  jealousy  between 
the  hunters  and  the  corsairs,  and  a  singular  distinction 
as  to  religious  feeling.  Pere  Labat,  however,  speaks 
of  the  Flibustiers  as  attending  confession  immediately 
after  a  sea-fight  with  most  exemplary  devotion.  A 
more  important  distinction  than  that  made  by  Char- 
levoix was  that  between  the  Protestant  and  Roman 
Catholic  adventurers,  the  latter  being  as  superstitious 
as  the  former  were  irreverent.  Ravenau  de  Lussan 
always  speaks  with  horror  of  the  blasphemy  and  irre- 
ligion  of  his  English  comerades,  one  of  whom  was  an 
old  trooper  of  Cromwell's;  and  Grognet's  fleet  even- 
tually separated  from  the  English  ships,  on  account  of 
the  latter  crews  lopping  crucifixes  with  their  sabres, 
and  firing  at  images  with  their  pistols.  A  Flibustier 
captain,  named  Daniel,  shot  one  of  his  men  in  a 
Spanish  church  for  behaving  irreverently  at  mass;  and 
Ringrose  gives  an  instance  of  an  English  commander 
who  threw  the  dice  overboard,  if  he  found  his  men 
gambling  on  a  Sunday. 

We  find  Ravenau  de  Lussan's  -troop  singing  a  Te 


THE  BUCCANEERS  223 

Detim    after    victories,    and    CExmelin    tells    us    that 
prayers  were  said  daily  on  board  Flibustier  ships. 

It  is  difficult  to  say  from  what  class  of  life  either 
the  Buccaneers  or  the  Flibustiers  sprang.  The  plant- 
ers often  became  hunters,  and  the  hunters  sailors,  and 
the  reverse.  Morgan  was  a  Welsh  farmer's  son,  who 
ran  away  to  sea;  Montauban,  the  son  of  a  Gascon 
gentleman;  D'Ogeron  had  been  a  captain  in  the 
French  marines;  Von  Horn,  a  common  sailor  in  an 
Ostende  smack;  Dampierre  was  a  Somersetshire  yeo- 
man, and  Esquemeling  a  Dutch  planter's  apprentice. 
Charlevoix  says,  "few  could  bear  for  many  years  a  life 
so  hard  and  laborious,  and  the  greater  part  only  con- 
tinued in  it  till  they  could  gain  enough  to  become 
planters.  Many,  continually  wasting  their  money, 
never  earned  sufficient  to  buy  a  plantation;  others 
grew  so  accustomed  to  the  life,  and  so  fond  even  of 
its  hardships  and  painful  risks,  that,  though  often 
heirs  to  good  fortunes,  they  would  not  leave  it  to 
return  to  France. 

The  life  of  M.  D'Ogeron,  the  governor  of  Tortuga, 
is  an  example  of  another  class  of  Buccaneers,  and  of 
the  causes  which  led  to  the  choice  of  such  a  profession. 
At  fifteen,  he  was  captain  of  a  regiment  of  marines, 
and  in  1656,  joining  a  company  intending  to  colonize 
the  Matingo  river,  he  embarked  in  a  ship,  fitted  out 
at  the  expense  of  17,000  livres.  Disappointed  in  this 
bubble,  he  tried  to  settle  at  Martinique,  but  deceived 
by  the  governor,  who  withdrew  a  grant  of  land,  he 
determined  to  settle  with  the  Buccaneers  of  St.  Do- 
mingo. Embarking  in  a  rlcketty  vessel,  he  ran  ashore 
on  Hispaniola,  and  lost  all  his  merchandise  and  pro- 


224  GREAT  PIRATE  STORIES 

visions.  Cjiving  his  engages  their  liberty,  he  joined 
the  hunters,  and  became  distinguished  as  well  for 
courage  as  virtue.  I  lis  goods  sent  from  France  were 
sold  at  a  loss,  and  he  returned  to  his  native  country 
a  jK)or  man.  Collecting  his  remaining  money,  he 
hired  engages,  and  loaded  a  vessel  with  wine  and 
brandy.  Finding  the  market  glutted,  he  sold  his  cargo 
at  a  loss,  and  was  cheated  by  his  Jamaica  agent.  Re- 
turning again  to  France,  he  fitted  out  a  third  vessel, 
and  finally  settled  as  a  planter  in  Mispaniola.  At  this 
juncture  the  French  West  India  Company  fixed  their 
eyes  upon  him,  and  in  1665  made  him  governor  of 
their  colony. 

Ravenau  de  Lussan  illustrates  the  motives  that 
sometimes  led  the  youth  of  the  higher  classes  to  turn 
Buccaneers.  He  commences  his  book  with  true 
French  vanity,  by  saying,  that  few  children  of  Paris, 
which  contains  so  many  of  the  wonders  of  the  world 
(ten  out  of  the  eight,  we  suppose),  seek  their  fortune 
abroad.  From  a  child  he  was  seized  with  a  pas- 
sionate disposition  for  travel,  and  would  steal  out  of 
his  father's  house  and  play  truant  when  he  was  yet 
scarce  seven.  He  soon  reached  La  Vilette  and  the 
suburbs,  and  by  degrees  learnt  to  lose  sight  of  Paris. 
With  this  passion  arose  a  desire  for  a  military  life. 
The  noise  of  a  drum  in  the  street  transported  him 
with  joy.  He  made  a  friend  of  an  officer,  and,  offer- 
ing him  his  sword,  joined  his  company,  and  witnessed 
the  siege  of  Conde,  ending  his  campaign,  still  un- 
wearied of  his  new  form  of  life.  He  then  became  a 
cadet  in  a  marine  regiment.  The  captain  drained  him 
of  all  his  money,  and  his  father,  at  a  great  expense. 


THE  BUCCANEERS  225 

bought  him  his  discharge.  Under  the  Count  D'Ave- 
geau  he  entered  the  French  Guards,  and  fought  at  the 
siege  of  St.  Guislain.  Growing,  on  his  return,  weary 
of  Paris,  he  embarked  again  on  the  sea,  having 
nothing  but  voyages  in  his  head;  the  longest  and  most 
dangerous  appearing  to  his  imagination,  he  says,  the 
most  delightful.  Travelling  by  land  seemed  to  him 
long  and  difficult,  and  he  once  more  chose  the  sea, 
deeming  it  only  fit  for  a  woman  to  remain  at  home 
ignorant  of  the  world.  His  affectionate  parents  tried 
in  vain  to  reason  him  out  of  this  gadding  humour,  and 
finding  him  only  grow  firmer  and  more  inflexible,  they 
desisted. 

Not  caring  whither  he  went,  so  he  could  get  to  sea, 
he  embarked  in  1697  from  Dieppe  for  St.  Domingo. 
Here  he  remained  for  five  months  engage  to  a  French 
planter,  "more  a  Turk  than  a  Frenchman."  "But 
what  misery,"  he  says,  "soever  I  have  undergone  with 
him,  being  resolved  to  forget  his  name,  which  I  shall 
not  mention  in  this  place,  because  the  laws  of  Chris- 
tianity require  that  at  my  hand,  though  as  to  matters 
of  charity  he  is  not  to  expect  much  of  that  in  me, 
since  he,  on  his  part,  has  been  every  way  defective 
in  the  exercise  thereof  upon  my  account."  But  his 
patience  at  last  worn  out,  and  weary  of  cruelties  that 
seenaed  endless,  De  Lussan  applied  to  M.  de  Fran- 
quesnay,  the  king's  lieutenant,  who  himself  gave  him 
shelter  in  his  house  for  six  months.  He  was  now  in 
debt,  and  thinking  it  "honest  to  pay  his  creditors,"  he 
joined  the  freebooters  in  order  to  satisfy  them,  not 
willing  to  apply  again  for  money  to  his  parents. 
"These   borrowings    from    the    Spaniards,"    he    says, 


226  (.REAT  PIRATE  STORIES 

"have  this  advantage  attending  them,  that  there  is  no 
obligation  to  repay  them,"  and  tlicre  was  war  between 
the  two  crowns,  so  tliat  he  was  a  legal  privateersman. 
Selecting  a  leader,  De  Lussan  pitched  on  De  Graff,  as 
a  brave  corsair,  who  happened  to  be  then  at  St.  Do- 
mingo, eager  to  sail.  I'urnishing  himself  with  arms, 
at  the  expense  of  Krancjuesnay,  he  joined  De  Graff. 
"We  were,"  he  says,  "in  a  few  hours  satisfied  with 
each  other,  and  became  such  friends  as  those  are  wont 
to  be  who  are  about  to  run  the  same  risk,  of  fortune, 
and  apparently  to  die  together."  The  22nd  of  No- 
vember, tiie  day  he  sailed  from  Petit  Guave,  seemed 
the  happiest  of  his  life. 

Dampierre  mentions  an  old  Buccaneer,  who  was 
slain  at  the  taking  of  Leon.  "He  was,"  he  says,  "a 
stout,  grey-headed  old  man,  aged  about  eighty-four, 
who  had  served  under  Oliver  Cromwell  in  the  Irish 
rebellion;  after  which  he  was  at  Jamaica,  and  had 
followed  privateering  ever  since.  He  would  not  ac- 
cept the  offer  our  men  made  him  to  tarry  ashore,  but 
said  he  would  venture  as  far  as  the  best  of  them;  but 
when  surrounded  by  the  Spaniards  he  refused  "to 
take  quarter,  but  discharged  his  gun  amongst  them, 
keeping  a  pistol  still  charged;  so  they  shot  him  dead 
at  a  distance.  His  name  was  Swan  [rara  aiis) .  He 
was  a  very  merry,  hearty  old  man,  and  always  used 
to  declare  he  would  never  take  quarter." 

When  the  adventurers  were  at  sea,  they  lived  to- 
gether as  a  friendly  brotherhood.  Every  morning  at 
ten  o'clock  the  ship's  cook  put  the  kettle  on  the  fire  to 
boil  the  salt  beef  for  the  crew,  in  fresh  water  if  they 
had  plenty,  but  if  they  ran  short  in  brine;  meal  was 


THE  BUCCANEERS  227 

boiled  at  the  same  time,  and  made  into  a  thick  por- 
ridge, which  was  mixed  with  the  gravy  and  the  fat  of 
the  meat.  The  whole  was  then  served  to  the  crew 
on  large  platters,  seven  men  to  a  plate.  If  the  cap- 
tain or  cook  helped  themselves  to  a  larger  share  than 
their  messmates,  any  of  the  republican  crew  had  a 
right  to  change  plates  with  them.  But,  notwithstand- 
ing this  brotherly  equality,  and  in  spite  of  the  captain 
being  deposable  by  his  crew,  there  was  maintained  at 
all  moments  of  necessity  the  strictest  discipline,  and 
the  most  rigid  subordination  of  rank.  The  crews  had 
two  meals  a  day.  They  always  said  grace  before 
meat:  the  French  Catholics  singing  the  canticles  of 
Zecharias,  the  Magnificat,  or  the  Miserere;  the  Eng- 
lish reading  a  chapter  from  the  New  Testament,  or 
singing  a  psalm. 

Directly  a  vessel  hove  in  sight,  the  Flibustiers  gave 
chase.  If  it  showed  a  Spanish  flag,  the  guns  were 
run  out,  and  the  decks  cleared;  the  pikes  lashed  ready, 
and  every  man  prepared  his  musket  and  powder,  of 
which  he  alone  was  the  guardian  (and  not  the  gun- 
ner), these  articles  being  generally  paid  for  from  the 
common  stock,  unless  provided  by  the  captain. 

They  first  fell  on  their  knees  at  their  quarters  (each 
group  round  its  gun),  to  pray  God  that  they  might 
obtain  both  victory  and  plunder.  Then  all  lay  down 
flat  on  the  deck,  except  the  few  left  to  steer  and  navi- 
gate— proceeding  to  board  as  soon  as  their  musketeers 
had  silenced  the  enemy's  fire.  If  victorious,  they  put 
their  prisoners  on  shore,  attended  to  the  wounded, 
and  took  stock  of  the  booty.  A  third  part  of  the 
crew  went  on  board  the  prize,  and  a  prize  captain 


228  GRI'.AT  PIRATE  STORIES 

was  chosen  by  lot.  No  excuse  was  allowed;  and  if 
illness  prevented  the  man  elected  taking  the  office,  his 
matclot,  or  companion,  took  his  place. 

On  arriving  at  Tortuga,  they  paid  a  commission  to 
the  governor,  and  before  dividing  the  spoil,  rewarded 
the  captain,  the  surgeons,  and  the  wounded.  The 
whole  crew  then  threw  into  a  common  heap  all  they 
possessed  above  the  value  of  five  sous,  and  took  an 
oath  on  the  New  Testament,  holding  up  their  right 
hands,  that  they  had  kept  nothing  back.  Any  one  de- 
tected in  perjury  was  marooned,  and  his  share  either 
given  to  the  rest,  to  the  heirs  of  the  dead,  or  as  a 
bequest  to  some  chapel.  The  jewels  and  merchandise 
were  sold,  and  they  divided  the  produce. 

"It  was  impossible,"  says  Qixmelin,  "to  put  any 
obstacle  in  the  way  of  men  who,  animated  simply  by 
the  hope  of  gain,  were  capable  of  such  great  enter- 
prises, having  nothing  hut  life  to  lose  and  all  to  win. 
It  is  true  that  they  would  not  have  persisted  long  in 
their  expeditions  if  they  had  had  neither  boats  nor 
provisions.  For  ships  they  never  wanted,  because 
they  were  in  the  habit  of  going  out  in  small  canoes 
and  capturing  the  largest  and  best  provisioned  vessels. 
For  harbours  they  could  never  want,  because  every- 
body fled  before  them,  and  they  had  but  to  appear  to 
be  victorious."  This  intelligent  and  animated  writer 
concludes  his  book  by  expressing  an  opinion  that  a 
firm  and  organized  resistance  by  Spain  at  the  outset 
might  have  stopped  the  subsequent  mischief;  but  this 
opinion  he  afterwards  qualifies  in  the  following  words, 
which,  coming  from  such  a  writer  so  well  acquainted 
with   those   of  whom   he  writes,   speakes  volumes   in 


THE  BUCCANEERS  229 

favour  of  Buccaneer  prowess:  "Je  dis  peut-etre,  car 
les  aventuriers  sont  de  terribles  gens." 

Charlevoix  describes  the  first  Flibustiers  as  going 
out  in  canoes  with  twenty-five  or  thirty  men,  without 
pilot  or  provisions,  to  capture  pearl-fishers  and  sur- 
prise small  cruisers.  If  they  succeeded,  they  went  to 
Tortuga,  bought  a  vessel,  and  started  150  strong, 
going  to  Cuba  to  take  in  salt  turtle,  or  to  Port  Margot 
or  Bayaha  for  dried  pork  or  beef — dividing  all  upon 
the  compagnon  a  bon  lot  principle.  They  always  said 
public  prayer  before  starting  on  an  expedition,  and 
returned  solemn  thanks  to  God  for  victory. 

"They  were,"  says  a  Jesuit  writer,  "at  first  so 
crowded  in  their  boats  that  they  had  scarcely  room  to 
lie  down;  and,  as  they  practised  no  economy  in  eating, 
they  were  always  short  of  food.  They  were  also 
night  and  day  exposed  to  the  inclemency  of  the 
weather,  and  yet  loved  so  much  the  independence  in 
which  they  lived,  that  no  one  murmured.  Some  sang 
when  others  wished  to  sleep,  and  all  were  by  turns 
compelled  to  bear  these  inconveniences  without  com- 
plaint. But  one  may  imagine  men  so  little  at  their 
ease  spared  no  pains  to  gain  more  comforts;  that  the 
sight  of  a  larger  and  more  convenient  vessel  gave  them 
courage  sufficient  to  capture  it;  and  that  hunger  de- 
prived them  of  all  sense  of  the  danger  of  procuring 
food.  They  attacked  all  they  met  without  a  thought, 
and  boarded  as  soon  as  possible.  A  single  volley 
would  hav^e  sunk  their  vessels;  but  they  were  skilful 
in  manoeuvre,  their  sailors  were  very  active,  and  they 
presented  to  the  enemy  nothing  but  a  prow  full  of 
fusiliers,  who,  firing  through  the  portholes,  struck  the 


230  (ikl'A'r  IMRATI^  STORIES 

^runners  with  terror.  Once  on  board,  nothing  could 
prevent  tliein  becoming  masters  of  a  ship,  however 
numerous  the  crew.  1  he  Spaniards'  blood  grew  cold 
when  those  whom  they  called,  and  looked  upon  as, 
demons  came  in  sight,  and  they  frequently  surrendered 
at  once  in  order  to  obtain  quarter.  If  the  prize  was 
rich  their  lives  were  spared;  but  if  the  cargo  proved 
poor,  the  Buccaneers  often  threw  the  crew  into  the 
sea  in  revenge." 

Their  favourite  coasts  were  the  Caraccas,  Cartha- 
gena,  Nicaragua,  and  Campeachy,  where  the  ports 
were  numerous  and  well  frequented.  Their  best  har- 
bours at  the  Caraccas  were  Cumana,  Canagote,  Coro, 
and  Maracaibo;  at  Carthagena,  La  Rancheria,  St. 
Martha,  and  Portobello.  Round  Cuba  they  watched 
for  vessels  going  from  New  Spain  to  Maracaibo.  If 
going,  they  found  them  laden  with  silver;  if  return- 
ing, full  of  cocoa.  The  prizes  to  the  Caraccas  were 
laden  with  the  lace  and  manufactures  of  Spain;  those 
from  Havannah,  with  leather,  Campeachy  wood, 
cocoa,  tobacco,  and  Spanish  coin. 

The  dress  of  the  Buccaneer  sailors  must  have  varied 
with  the  changes  of  the  age.  Retaining  their  red 
shirts  and  leather  sandals  as  the  working  dress  of  their 
brotherhood,  we  find  them  donning  all  the  splendour 
rummaged  from  Spanish  cabins,  now  wearing  the 
plumed  hat  and  laced  sword-belt  of  Charles  the  Sec- 
ond's reign,  and  now  the  tufts  of  ribbons  of  the  per- 
fumed court  of  Louis  Quatorze.  Sprung  from  all 
nations  and  all  ranks,  some  of  them  prided  themselves 
upon  the  rough  beard,  bare  feet,  and  belted  shirt  of 
the  rudest  seaman,  while  others,  like  Grammont  and 


THE  BUCCANEERS  231 

De  Graff,  flaunted  in  the  richest  costumes  of  their 
period.  They  must  have  passed  from  the  long  cloak 
and  loose  cassock  of  the  Stuart  reign  to  the  jack-boots 
and  Dutch  dress  of  William  of  Orange;  from  the 
laced  and  flowing  Steenkirk  to  the  fringed  cock-hat 
and  deep-flapped  waistcoat  of  Queen  Anne.  In  the 
English  translation  of  Esquemeling,  Barthelemy  Port- 
ugues,  one  of  the  earliest  sea-rovers,  is  represented  as 
having  his  long,  lank  hair  parted  in  the  centre  and 
falling  on  his  shoulders,  and  his  moustachios  long  and 
rough.  He  wears  a  plain  embroidered  coat  with  a 
neck-band,  and  carries  in  his  arms  a  short,  broad 
sabre,  unsheathed,  as  was  the  habit  with  many  Bucca- 
neer chiefs.  Roche  Braziliano  appears  in  a  plain  hun- 
ter's shirt,  the  strings  tying  it  at  the  neck  being  fas- 
tened in  a  bow.  Lolonis  has  the  same  shirt,  showing 
at  his  neck  and  pufl'ing  through  the  openings  of  his 
sleeve,  and  he  carries  a  naked  broadsword  with  a  shell 
guard.  In  the  portrait  of  Sir  Henry  Morgan  we  see 
much  more  affectation  of  aristocratic  dress.  He  has 
a  rich  coat  of  Charles  the  Second's  period,  a  laced  cra- 
vat tied  in  a  fringed  bow  with  long  ends,  and  his  broad 
sword-belt  is  stiff  with  gold  lace.  The  hunter's  shirt, 
however,  still  shows  through  the  slashed  sleeves. 


JOHN  PAUL  JONES— PIRATE  AND 
PKIVA'IEEK 

[From    "Daring    Deeds   of   F'amous    Pirates,"    by   E. 

Kl.HI.I.    ClIAlI  KKION.] 

[^^  TE  come  now  to  consider  the  exploits  of 
%/%/  another  historical  character  whose  life  and 
"  '  adventures  will  ever  be  of  unfailing  interest 
on  both  sides  of  the  Atlantic.  And  yet,  perhaps,  this 
amazing  Scotsman  is  to-day  better  known  in  America 
than  in  Great  Britain.  Like  many  another  before 
him  he  rose  from  the  rank  of  ordinary  seaman  to  be- 
come a  man  that  was  to  be  had  in  great  fear  if  not 
respect.  His  fame  has  been  celebrated  in  fiction,  and 
very  probably  many  a  story  of  which  he  has  been  made 
the  hero  had  no  foundation  in  fact.] 

[There  is  some  dispute  concerning  his  birth,  but  it 
seems  pretty  certain  that  he  was  the  son  of  John  Paul, 
head  gardener  on  Lord  Selkirk's  estate  near  Kirkcud- 
bright. Paul  Jones  first  saw  light  in  the  year  1728. 
Brought  up  on  the  shores  of  the  Solway  Firth,  it  was 
only  likely  that  he  gave  up  being  assistant  to  his  father 
and  preferred  the  sea  to  gardening.  In  his  character 
there  developed  many  of  those  traits  which  have  been 
such  marked  characteristics  of  the  pirate  breed.  To 
realize  Paul  Jones,  you  must  think  of  a  wild,  reckless 
nature,  burning  with  enthusiasm  for  adventure,  yet 
excessively  vain  and  desirous  of  recognition.     He  was 

232 


JOHN  PAUL  JONES  233 

a  rebel,  a  privateer,  a  pirate  and  a  smuggler;  he  was  a 
villain,  he  was  quarrelsome,  he  was  petty  and  mean. 
Finally,  he  was  a  traitor  to  his  country.  When  he 
died  he  had  lived  a  most  varied  life,  and  had  seen 
service  on  merchantman,  slaver  and  man-of-war.] 

[After  making  several  voyages  to  the  West  Indies 
In  a  merchantman  as  ordinary  and  able-bodied  sea- 
man, he  was  promoted  to  rank  of  mate,  and  then  rose 
to  the  rank  of  master.  Soon  after  the  rupture  be- 
tween England  and  America  he  happened  to  be  in 
New  England,  and  then  It  was  that  he  succumbed  to 
the  temptation  to  desert  his  own  national  standard 
and  to  throw  his  aid  on  to  the  side  of  the  revolution- 
ists— for  which  reason  he  changed  his  real  name  of 
John  Paul  to  that  of  Paul  Jones.  Notwithstanding 
that  Jones  has  been  justly  condemned  by  biographers 
for  having  been  a  traitor,  yet  my  own  opinion  Is  that 
this  charge  arose  far  less  from  a  desire  to  become  an 
enemy  of  the  British  nation  than  from  that  overwhelm- 
ing wanderlust,  and  that  irrepressible  desire  for  ad- 
venture to  which  we  have  already  called  attention. 
There  are  some  men  who  have  never  had  enough 
fighting.  So  soon  as  one  campaign  ends  they  are  un- 
happy till  another  begins,  so  that  they  may  find  a  full 
outlet  for  their  spirits.  To  such  men  as  these  the 
daily  round  of  a  peaceful  life  is  a  perpetual  monotony, 
and  unless  they  can  go  forth  to  rove  and  wander,  to 
fight  or  to  explore,  their  very  souls  would  almost  cry 
out  for  freedom.] 

[So,  I  am  convinced,  it  was  with  Paul  Jones.  To 
such  a  man  nationalities  mean  nothing  more  than  cer- 
tain  artificial   considerations.     The   only   real   differ- 


234  GREAT  PIRATE  STORIES 

enccs  arc  thf)sc  between  the  hirui  and  the  sea.  He 
knew  that  in  the  forthcoming  war  he  would  find  just 
the  adventure  which  delighted  him;  he  would  have 
every  chance  of  obtaining  booty,  and  his  own  natural 
endowment,  physical  and  mental,  were  splendidly  suit- 
able for  such  activities.  He  had  a  special  knowledge 
of  British  pilotage,  so  he  was  a  seaman  distinctly 
worth  having  for  any  marauding  expeditions  that 
might  be  set  going.  So  in  the  year  1777  we  find  him 
very  busy  as  commander,  fitting  out  the  privateer 
Ratigcr.  This  vessel  mounted  18  guns  as  well  as  sev- 
eral swivel-guns,  and  had  a  desperate  crew  of  150  able 
men. 

He  put  to  sea  and  made  two  captures  on  the  Euro- 
pean side  of  the  Atlantic,  sending  each  of  these  prizes 
into  a  French  port.  The  following  spring  he  went  a 
step  further  in  his  character  as  a  rebel,  for  he  ap- 
peared off  the  Cumberland  coast  and  began  to  attack 
a  part  of  England  that  must  have  been  singularly 
well-known  to  him.]  He  had  made  his  landfall  by 
daylight,  but  stood  away  until  darkness  set  in.  At 
midnight  he  ran  closer  in,  and  in  grim  silence  he  sent 
away  his  boats  with  thirty  men,  all  well  armed  and 
ready  to  perform  a  desperate  job.  Their  objective 
was  Whitehaven,  the  entrance  to  the  harbour  being 
commanded  by  a  small  battery,  so  their  first  effort 
must  obviously  be  to  settle  that.  Having  landed  with 
great  care,  they  rushed  upon  the  small  garrison  and 
made  the  whole  lot  of  prisoners.  The  guns  of  the 
battery  were  next  spiked,  and  now  they  set  about  their 
next  piece  of  daring. 

In  the  harbour  the  ships  were  lying  side  by  side,  the 


JOHN  PAUL  JONES  235 

tide  being  out.  The  good  people  of  the  town  were 
asleep  in  their  beds,  and  all  the  conditions  were  ideal 
for  burning  the  shipping  where  it  stood.  Very 
stealthily  the  men  went  about  their  business,  and  had 
laid  their  combustibles  on  the  decks  all  ready  for  fir- 
ing as  soon  as  the  signal  should  be  given.  But  just 
then  something  was  happening.  At  the  doors  of  the 
main  street  of  the  little  town  there  was  a  series  of 
loud  knockings,  and  people  began  to  wake  and  bustle 
about;  and  soon  the  sound  of  voices  and  the  sight  of 
crowds  running  down  to  the  pier.  The  marauders 
had  now  to  hurry  on  the  rest  of  their  work,  for  the 
alarm  had  been  given  and  there  was  not  a  moment  to 
lose.  So  hastily  the  privateer's  men  threw  their 
matches  on  the  decks,  then  made  for  their  boats  and 
rowed  off  quickly  to  their  ship. 

But,  luckily,  the  inhabitants  of  Whitehaven  had 
come  down  just  in  time.  For  they  were  able  to  ex- 
tinguish the  flames  before  serious  damage  had  been 
done.  What  was  their  joy  was  keen  annoyance  to 
the  privateer's  men.  But  who  was  the  good  friend 
who  had  taken  the  trouble  to  rouse  the  town?  Who 
had  at  once  been  so  kind  as  to  knock  at  the  doors  and 
to  despoil  the  marauders  of  their  night's  work? 
When  the  shore  party  of  the  privateer  mustered  on 
deck  it  was  found  that  one  man  was  missing,  and  this 
was  the  fellow  who,  for  some  conscientious  or  worldly 
motive,  had  gone  over  to  the  other  side,  and  so  saved 
both  property  and  lives. 

So  Jones  went  a  few  miles  farther  north,  crossed 
his  familiar  Solway  Firth  and  entered  the  river  Dee, 
on  the  left  bank  of  which  stands  Kirkcudbright.     He 


236  (iREAT  PIRATE  STORIES 

entered  the  estuary  at  dawn  and  let  ^^o  anchor  oft 
Lord  Selkirk's  castle.  When  the  natives  saw  this  war- 
like ship  in  their  river,  with  her  guns  and  her  formid- 
able appearance  generally,  they  he^an  to  fear  she  was 
a  man-of-war  come  to  impress  men  for  the  Navy.  It 
happened  that  the  noble  lortl  was  away  from  home  in 
London,  and  when  the  men-servants  at  the  castle  es- 
pied what  they  presumed  to  be  a  King's  ship,  they 
begged  Lady  Selkirk  for  leave  to  go  and  hide  them- 
selves lest  they  might  be  impressed  into  the  service. 
A  boat  was  sent  from  the  ship,  and  a  strong  body  of 
men  landed  and  marched  to  the  castle,  which,  to  the 
surprise  of  all,  they  surrounded.  Lady  Selkirk  had 
just  finished  breakfast  when  she  was  summoned  to 
appear  before  the  leader  of  the  men,  whose  rough 
clotiies  soon  showed  the  kind  of  fellows  they  were. 
Armed  with  pistols,  swords,  muskets,  and  even  an 
American  tomahawk,  they  inquired  for  Lord  Selkirk, 
only  to  be  assured  his  lordship  was  away. 

The  next  request  was  that  all  the  family  plate 
should  be  handed  over.  So  all  that  was  in  the  castle 
was  yielded,  even  to  the  silver  teapot  which  was  on 
the  breakfast  table  and  had  not  yet  been  washed  out. 
The  silver  was  packed  up,  and  with  many  apologies 
for  having  had  to  transact  this  "dirty  business,"  as 
one  of  the  officers  called  it,  the  pirates  went  back  to 
their  ship  rather  richer  than  they  had  set  out.  But 
the  inhabitants  of  the  castle  were  as  much  surprised 
as  they  were  thankful  to  find  their  own  lives  had  not 
been  demanded  as  well  as  the  plate.  The  ship  got 
under  way  some  time  after,  and  put  to  sea  without  any 
further  incident.     Now  the  rest  of  this  story  of  the 


i 


JOHN  PAUL  JONES  237 

plate  runs  as  follows,  and  shows  another  side  to  the 
character  of  the  head-gardener's  son:  for,  a  few  days 
after  this  visit.  Lady  Selkirk  received  a  letter  from 
Jones,  apologising  for  what  had  been  done,  and  stat- 
ing that  this  raid  had  been  neither  suggested  nor  sanc- 
tioned by  him.  On  the  contrary  he  had  used  his  best 
influence  to  prevent  its  occurrence.  But  his  officers 
and  crew  had  insisted  on  the  deed,  with  a  view  to  cap- 
turing Lord  Selkirk,  for  whose  ransom  they  hoped 
to  obtain  a  large  sum  of  money. 

As  an  earnest  of  his  own  innocence  in  the  matter, 
Paul  Jones  added  that  he  would  try  to  purchase  from 
his  associates  the  booty  which  they  had  brought  away, 
and  even  if  he  could  not  return  the  entire  quantity  he 
would  send  back  all  that  he  could.  We  need  not  stop 
to  wonder  whether  Lady  Selkirk  really  believed  such  a 
statement;  but  the  truth  is  that  about  five  years  later 
the  whole  of  the  plate  came  back,  carriage  paid,  in 
exactly  the  same  condition  as  it  had  left  the  castle. 
Apparently  it  had  never  been  unpacked,  for  the  tea 
leaves  were  still  in  the  teapot,  just  as  they  had  been 
taken  away  on  that  exciting  morning. 

But  to  come  back  to  the  ship.  After  leaving  the 
Solway  Firth  astern,  Jones  stood  over  to  the  Irish 
coast  and  entered  Belfast  Lough,  amusing  himself  on 
the  way  by  burning  or  capturing  several  fishing  craft. 
But  It  happened  that  he  was  espied  by  Captain  Burdon 
of  H.M.S.  Drake,  a  sloop.  Seeing  Jones'  ship  com- 
ing along,  he  took  her  to  be  a  merchantman,  and  so 
from  her  he  could  impress  some  seamen.  So  the  of- 
ficer lowered  a  boat  and  sent  her  off.  But  when  the 
boat's  crew  came  aboard  Jones'  vessel  they  had  the 


238  GREAT  PIRATE  STORIES 

surprise  of  tlicir  lives,  f(jr  instead  of  arresting  they 
were  themselves  arrested.  After  this  it  seemed  to 
Jones  more  prudent  to  leave  Belfast  alone  and  get 
away  with  his  capture.  Meanwhile,  Captain  Burdon 
was  getting  anxious  ahout  his  men,  as  the  boat  had 
not  returned.  Moreover,  he  noticed  that  the  sup- 
posed merchantman  was  now  crowding  on  all  possible 
sail,  so  he  at  once  prepared  his  sloop  for  giving  chase 
and  prepared  for  action,  and,  on  coming  up  with  the 
privateer,  began  a  sharp  fire. 

Night,  however,  intervened,  and  the  firing  had  to 
stop,  but  when  daylight  returned  the  engagement  re- 
commenced and  continued  for  an  hour.  A  fierce  en- 
counter was  fought  on  both  sides,  and  at  length  Cap- 
tain Burdon  and  his  first  lieutenant  were  killed,  as 
well  as  twenty  of  the  crew  disabled.  The  Drake's 
topmast  was  shot  away  and  the  ship  was  considerably 
damaged,  so  that  there  was  no  other  alternative  but 
to  surrender  to  the  privateer. 

But  as  both  sides  of  the  Irish  Channel  were  now  in- 
furiated against  Jones,  he  determined  to  leave  these 
parts,  and  taking  his  prize  with  him  proceeded  to 
Brest,  where  he  arrived  in  safety.  In  the  following 
year,  instead  of  the  Ranker  he  had  command  of  a  fri- 
gate called  the  Bon  Homme  Richard,  a  40-gun  ship 
with  370  crew.  In  addition  to  this  vessel  he  had  also 
the  frigate  Alliance,  of  36  guns  and  300  crew;  the  brig 
Vengeance,  14  guns  and  70  men;  a  cutter  of  eighteen 
tons;  and  a  French  frigate  named  the  Pallas.  All 
except  the  last  mentioned  were  in  the  service  of  the 
American  Congress.  A  little  further  down  the  coast 
of  the  Bay  of  Biscay  than  Brest  is  L'Orient,  and  from 


JOHN  PAUL  JONES  239 

this  port  Jones  sailed  with  the  above  fleet  in  the  sum- 
mer of  1779,  arriving  off  the  Kerry  coast,  where  he 
sent  a  boat's  crew  ashore  to  bring  back  sheep.  But 
the  natives  captured  the  boat's  crew  and  lodged  them 
in  Tralee  gaol. 

After  this  Jones  sailed  to  the  east  of  Scotland  and 
captured  a  number  of  prizes,  all  of  which  he  sent  on 
to  France.  Finally  he  determined  to  attempt  no  less 
a  plan  than  burn  the  shipping  in  Leith  harbour  and 
collect  tribute  from  the  undefended  towns  of  the  Fife- 
shire  coast.  He  came  into  the  Firth  of  Forth,  but  as 
both  wind  and  tide  were  foul,  he  let  go  under  the 
Island  of  Inchkeith.  Next  day  he  weighed  anchor  and 
again  tried  to  make  Leith,  but  the  breeze  had  now  in- 
creased to  a  gale,  and  he  sprung  one  of  his  topmasts 
which  caused  him  to  bear  up  and  leave  the  Firth.  He 
now  rejoined  his  squadron  and  cruised  along  the  east 
coast  of  England.  Towards  the  end  of  September 
he  fell  in  with  a  British  convoy  bound  from  the  Baltic, 
being  escorted  by  two  men-of-war,  namely,  H.M.S. 
Serapis,  (44  guns),  and  H.M.S.  Countess  of  Scar- 
borough (20  guns).  And  then  followed  a  most 
memorable  engagement.  In  order  that  the  reader 
may  be  afforded  some  opportunity  of  realising  how 
doughty  an  opponent  was  this  Paul  Jones,  and  how 
this  corsair  was  able  to  make  a  ship  of  the  Royal 
Navy  strike  colours,  I  append  the  following  despatch 
which  was  written  by  Captain  Pearson,  R.N.,  who 
commanded  the  Serapis.  The  Countess  of  Scar- 
borough was  under  command  of  Captain  Thomas 
Piercy,  and  this  officer  also  confirmed  the  account  of 
the  disaster.     The  narrative  is  so  succinct  and  clear 


240  GREAT  PIRATE  STORIES 

tliat  it  needs  no  further  explanation.  The  letter  was 
written  from  the  'iexel,  whither  Pearson  was  after- 
wards taken : — 

"/'alias  Frigate  in  Congrkss  Service, 
ThXEL,  October  b,  177'J. 

"On  the  2;ird  iilt.  beinj^  close  in  with  Scarborough 
about  twelve  o'clock,  a  boat  came  on  board  with  a  let- 
ter from  the  bailiffs  of  that  corporation,  giving  informa- 
tion of  a  Hying  squadron  of  the  enemy's  ship  being  on 
the  coast,  of  a  part  of  the  said  squadron  having  been 
seen  from  thence  the  day  before  standing  to  the  south- 
ward. As  soon  as  I  received  this  intelligence  I  made 
the  signal  for  the  convoy  to  bear  down  under  my  lee, 
and  repeated  it  with  two  guns ;  notwithstanding  which 
the  van  of  the  convoy  kept  their  wind  with  all  sail 
stretching  out  to  the  southward  from  under  Flam- 
borough-head,  till  between  twelve  and  one,  when  the 
headmost  of  them  got  sight  of  the  enemy's  ships,  which 
were  then  in  chase  of  them.  They  then  tacked,  and 
made  the  best  of  their  way  under  the  shore  for  Scar- 
borough, letting  fly  their  topgallant  sheets,  and  firing 
guns;  upon  which  I  made  all  the  sail  I  could  to  wind- 
ward, to  get  between  the  enemy's  ship  and  the  con- 
voy, which  I  soon  effected.  At  one  o'clock  we  got 
sight  of  the  enemy's  ship  from  the  masthead,  and  about 
four  we  made  them  plain  from  the  deck  to  be  three 
large  ships  and  a  brig!  Upon  which  I  made  the  Coun- 
tess of  Scarborough's  signal  to  join  me,  she  being  in- 
shore with  the  convoy ;  at  the  same  time  I  made  the  sig- 
nal for  the  convoy  to  make  the  best  of  their  way,  and 
repeated  the  signal  with  two  guns.  I  then  brought-to 
to  let  the  Countess  of  Scarborough  come  up,  and  cleared 
ship  for  action. 

"At  half-past  five  the  Countess  of  Scarborough  joined 


JOHN  PAUL  JONES  241 

me,  the  enemy's  ships  bearing  down  upon  us  with  a 
light  breeze  at  S.S.W. ;  at  six  tacked  and  laid  our  head 
in-shore,  in  order  to  keep  our  ground  the  better  between 
the  enemy's  ships  and  the  convoy ;  soon  after  which  we 
perceived  the  ships  bearing  down  upon  us  to  be  a  two- 
decked  ship  and  two  frigates,  but  from  their  keeping 
end  upon  us  in  bearing  down,  we  could  not  discern 
what  colours  they  were  under.  At  twenty  minutes  past 
seven,  the  largest  ship  of  the  two  brought-to  on  our 
lee-bow,  within  musket  shot.  I  hailed  him,  and  asked 
what  ship  it  was?  They  answered  in  English,  the 
Princess  Royal.  I  then  asked  where  they  belonged  to? 
They  answered  evasively;  on  which  I  told  them,  if  they 
did  not  answer  directly  I  would  fire  into  them.  They 
then  answered  with  a  shot,  which  was  instantly  returned 
with  a  broadside;  and  after  exchanging  two  or  three 
broadsides,  he  backed  his  topsails,  and  dropped  upon 
our  quarter,  within  pistol-shot;  then  filled  again,  put 
his  helm  a-weather,  and  ran  us  on  board  upon  our 
weather  quarter,  and  attempted  to  board  us,  but  being 
repulsed  he  sheered  off:  upon  which  I  backed  our  top- 
sails in  order  to  get  square  with  him  again ;  which,  as 
soon  as  he  observed ;  he  then  filled,  put  his  helm  a- 
weather,  and  laid  us  athwart  hawse ;  his  mizzen  shrouds 
took  our  jib-boom,  which  hung  for  some  time,  till  it  at 
last  gave  way,  and  we  dropt  alongside  each  other  head 
and  stern,  when  the  fluke  of  our  spare  anchor  hooking 
his  quarter,  we  became  so  close  fore-and-aft,  that  the 
muzzles  of  our  guns  touched  each  other's  sides. 

"In  this  position  we  engaged  from  half-past  eight  till 
half-past  ten;  during  which  time,  from  the  great  quan- 
tity and  variety  of  combustible  matters  which  they  threw 
upon  our  decks,  chains,  and,  in  short,  into  every  part  of 
the  ship,  we  were  on  fire  not  less  than  ten  or  twelve 
times  in  different  parts  of  the  ship,  and  it  was  with  the 


242  GREAT  PIRATE  STORIES 

greatest  difiiculty  and  exertion  imaginable  at  times,  that 
we  were  able  to  get  it  extinguished.  At  the  same  time 
tlic  largest  of  the  two  frigates  kept  sailing  round  us  dur- 
ing the  whole  action,  and  raking  us  fore  and  aft,  by 
which  means  she  killed  or  wounded  almost  every  man 
on  the  (juartcr  and  main  decks.  At  half-past  nine, 
either  from  a  hand  grenade  being  thrown  in  at  one  of 
our  lower-deck  port^,  or  from  some  other  accident,  a 
cartridge  of  powder  was  set  on  fire,  the  flames  of  which 
running  frcjm  cartridge  to  cartridge  all  the  way  aft, 
blew  up  the  whole  of  the  people  and  oflficers  that  were 
quartered  abaft  the  main  mast;  from  which  unfortunate 
circumstance  all  those  guns  were  rendered  useless  for 
the  remainder  of  the  action,  and  I  fear  the  greatest  part 
of  the  people  will  lose  their  lives. 

'At  ten  o'clock  they  called  for  quarters  from  the 
ship  alongside,  and  said  they  had  struck.  Hearing  this, 
I  called  upon  the  captain  to  say  if  they  had  struck, 
or  if  he  asked  for  quarter ;  but  receiving  no  answer, 
after  repeating  my  words  two  or  three  times,  I  called 
for  the  boarders,  and  ordered  them  to  board,  which  they 
did;  but  the  moment  they  were  on  board  her,  they  dis- 
covered a  superior  number  lying  under  cover,  with  pikes 
in  their  hands,  ready  to  receive  them ;  on  which  our 
people  retreated  instantly  into  our  own  ship,  and  re- 
turned to  their  guns  again  until  half-past  ten,  when  the 
frigate  coming  across  our  stern,  and  pouring  her  broad- 
side into  us  again,  without  our  being  able  to  bring  a  gun 
to  bear  on  her,  I  found  it  in  vain,  and  in  short  imprac- 
ticable, from  the  situation  we  were  in,  to  stand  out  any 
longer  with  any  prospect  of  success;  I  therefore  struck. 
Our  main-mast  at  the  same  time  went  by  the  board. 

"The  first  lieutenant  and  myself  were  immediately 
escorted  into  the  ship  alongside,  when  we  found  her 
to  be  an  American  ship  of  war,  called  the  Bon  Homme 


JOHN  PAUL  JONES  243 

Richard^  of  forty  guns,  and  375  men,  commanded  by 
Captain  Paul  Jones;  the  other  frigate  which  engaged 
us,  to  be  the  Alliance,  of  forty  guns,  and  300  men;  and 
the  third  frigate,  which  engaged  and  took  the  Countess 
of  Scarborough,  after  two.hours'  action,  to  be  the  Pallas, 
a  French  frigate  of  thirty  guns,  and  275  men;  the  Ven- 
geance, an  armed  brig,  of  twelve  guns,  and  70  men ;  all 
in  Congress  service,  under  the  command  of  Paul  Jones. 
They  fitted  out  and  sailed  from  Port  I'Orient  the  latter 
end  of  July,  and  come  north  about.  They  have  on 
board  300  English  prisoners,  which  they  have  taken  in 
different  vessels  in  their  way  round  since  they  left 
France,  and  have  ransomed  some  others.  On  my  go- 
ing on  board  the  Bon  Homme  Richard  I  found  her  in 
the  greatest  distress,  her  quarters  and  counter  on  the 
lower  deck  being  entirely  drove  in,  and  the  whole 
of  her  lower-deck  guns  dismounted ;  she  was  also  on 
fire  in  two  places,  and  six  or  seven  feet  of  water  in  her 
hold,  which  kept  increasing  upon  them  all  night  and 
next  day,  till  they  were  obliged  to  quit  her.  She  had 
300  men  killed  and  wounded  in  the  action.  Our  loss 
in  the  Serapis  was  also  very  great. 

"My  officers,  and  people  in  general,  behaved  well; 
and  I  should  be  very  remiss  in  my  attentions  to  their 
merit  were  I  to  omit  recommending  them  to  their  Lord- 
ships' favour. 

"I  must  at  the  same  time  beg  leave  to  inform  their 
Lordships  that  Captain  Piercy,  in  the  Countess  of  Scar- 
borough, was  not  the  least  remiss  in  his  duty,  he  having 
given  me  every  assistance  in  his  power;  and  as  much  as 
could  be  expected  from  such  a  ship  in  engaging  the  at- 
tention of  the  Pallas,  a  frigate  of  thirty-two  guns,  dur- 
ing the  whole  action. 

"I  am  extremely  sorr>'  for  the  accident  that  has  hap- 
pened, that  of  losing  His  Majesty's  ship  which  I  had  the 


244  GREAT  PIRATE  STORIES 

honour  to  command;  but  at  the  same  time  I  flatter 
myself  with  the  hope  that  tlicir  Lordships  will  be  con- 
vinced that  she  has  not  been  given  away ;  but,  on  the 
contrary,  that  every  exertion  has  been  used  to  defend 
her,  and  that  two  essential  pieces  of  service  to  our  coun- 
try have  arisen  from  it:  the  one,  in  wholly  oversetting 
the  cruise  and  intentions  of  this  flying  squadron ;  the 
other  is  rescuinjj  the  whole  of  a  valuable  convoy  from 
falling  into  the  hands  of  the  enemy,  which  must  have 
been  the  case  had  I  acted  any  otherwise  than  I  did. 
We  have  been  driving  about  the  North  Sea  ever  since 
the  action,  and  endeavouring  to  make  to  any  port  we 
possibly  could ;  but  have  not  been  able  to  get  into  any 
place  till  to-day  we  arrived  in  the  Texel.  Herewith  I 
enclose  you  the  most  correct  list  of  the  killed  and 
wounded  I  have  as  yet  been  able  to  procure,  from  my 
people  being  dispersed  among  the  different  ships,  and 
having  been  refused  permission  to  make  much  of  them. 

"R.  Pearson. 

"P.  S.  I  am  refused  permission  to  wait  on  Sir  Joseph 
Yorke,^  and  even  to  go  on  shore. 

"The  killed  were — i  boatswain,  i  master's  mate,  2 
midshipmen,  i  quarter-master,  29  sailors,  15  marines — 

49- 

"Wounded — second  lieutenant  Michael  Stanhope, 
Lieutenant  Whiteman,  marines,  2  surgeon's  mates,  6 
petty  officers,  46  sailors,  12  marines — total,  68." 

It  is  obvious  that  the  British  Officers  had  fought 
their  ships  most  gallantly,  and  the  King  showed  his 
appreciation  by  conferring  the  honour  of  knighthood 
on  Captain  Pearson,  and  soon  after  Piercy  was  pro- 
moted to   the   rank  of  Post-Captain,   and  promotion 

1  The  British  Ambassador. 


JOHN  PAUL  JONES  245 

was  also  granted  to  the  other  officers.  But  recog- 
nition was  shown  not  merely  by  the  State  but  by  the 
City,  for  the  Directors  of  the  Royal  Exchange  Assur- 
ance Company  presented  Pearson  with  a  piece  of  plate 
valued  at  a  hundred  guineas,  and  Piercy  with  a  simi- 
lar gift  valued  at  fifty  guineas.  They  further  voted 
their  thanks  to  the  officers  for  having  protected  the 
rich  fleets  under  their  care. 

The  British  Ambassador,  Sir  Joseph  York,  had  con- 
siderable difficulty  in  procuring  the  release  of  the 
prisoners  which  Paul  Jones  had  made  from  His  Maj- 
esty's ships,  and  although  he  strenuously  urged  the 
States  General  to  detain  Jones  and  his  ships  as  a  rebel 
subject  with  unlawful  ships,  yet  the  squadron,  after 
being  carefully  blockaded,  succeeded  in  escaping  one 
dark  night  to  Dunkirk.  Jones  had  lost  his  ship  the 
Bon  Homme  Richard  as  a  result  of  the  fight,  and  now 
made  the  Alliance  his  flagship. 

The  story  of  Paul  Jones  from  now  is  not  capable 
of  completion.  For  a  period  of  several  years  his 
movements  were  somewhat  mysterious,  although  it  is 
known  that  on  one  occasion  he  sailed  across  the  Atlan- 
tic in  the  remarkable  time  of  three  weeks  with  des- 
patches from  the  American  Congress.  Then  the 
fame  of  this  remarkable  fellow  begins  to  wane. 
After  peace  was  concluded  the  active  brain  and  fer- 
vent spirit  of  Paul  Jones  were  not  required,  and  he 
chafed  against  the  fetters  of  unemployment.  It  is 
true  that  he  offered  his  services  to  the  Empress  of 
Russia  in  1788,  but  he  seems  very  soon  to  have  gone 
to  Paris  where  he  spent  the  rest  of  his  life.  There 
was  no  employment  for  him  In  the  French  Navy,  and 


246 


(jREAT  PIRATE  STORIES 


finally  he  was  reduced  to  abject  poverty  and  ended  his 
days  in  the  year  1792. 

[It  is  not  quite  easy,  altogether,  to  estimate  the 
character  of  a  man  so  contradictory  as  Paul  Jones. 
Mad  he  been  born  in  another  age  and  placed  in  differ- 
ent circumstances,  there  is  no  telling  how  illustrious 
he  might  not  have  become.  He  was  certainly  a  mag- 
nificent seaman  and  fighting  man,  but  over  and  above 
all  he  was  an  adventurer.  Idolised  as  a  hero  both  in 
America  and  France,  he  struck  terror  in  Britain. 

lie  was  primarily  a  sailor  of  fortune.  As  one  can 
see  from  his  life  his  devotion  to  adventure  was  far 
superior  to  his  devotion  to  nationality — Scotch,  Eng- 
lish, French,  American  or  Russian.  He  was  willing 
and  anxious  to  go  wherever  there  was  fighting,  wher- 
ever glory  could  be  obtained. 


JEAN  LAFITTE-THE  PIRATE 
OF  THE  GULF 

[From  "The  Pirates'  Own  Book."] 

JEAN  LAFITTE  was  born  at  St.  Maloes  in 
France,  in  178 1,  and  went  to  sea  at  the  age  of 
thirteen;  after  several  voyages- In  Europe,  and 
to  the  coast  of  Africa,  he  was  appointed  mate  of  a 
French  East  Indiaman,  bound  to  Madras.  On  the 
outward  passage  they  encountered  a  heavy  gale  off  the 
Cape  of  Good  Hope,  which  sprung  the  mainmast  and 
otherwise  injured  the  ship,  which  determined  the  cap- 
tain to  bear  up  for  the  Mauritius,  where  he  arrived  in 
safety;  a  quarrel  having  taken  place  on  the  passage 
out  between  Lafitte  and  the  captain,  he  abandoned  the 
ship  and  refused  to  continue  the  voyage.  Several 
privateers  were  at  this  time  fitting  out  at  this  island, 
and  Lafitte  was  appointed  captain  of  one  of  these 
vessels;  after  a  cruise  during  which  he  robbed  the 
vessels  of  other  nations  besides  those  of  England,  and 
thus  committing  piracy,  he  stopped  at  the  Seychelles, 
and  took  In  a  load  of  slaves  for  the  Mauritius;  but 
being  chased  by  an  English  frigate  as  far  north  as  the 
equator,  he  found  himself  in  a  very  awkward  condi- 
tion; not  having  provisions  enough  on  board  his  ship 
to  carry  him  back  to  the  French  Colony.  He  there- 
fore conceived  the  bold  project  of  proceeding  to  the 
Bay  of  Bengal,  In  order  to  get  provisions  from  on 

247 


248  GRIlAT  IMRATE  STORIES 

board  some  English  ships.  In  his  ship  of  two  hun- 
dred tons,  with  only  two  guns  and  twenty-six  men,  he 
attacked  and  took  an  English  armed  schooner  with  a 
numerous  crew.  y\fter  putting  nineteen  of  his  own 
crew  on  hoard  the  schooner,  he  took  the  command  of 
her  and  proceeded  to  cruise  upon  the  coast  of  Bengal. 
He  there  fell  in  with  the  Payoda,  a  vessel  belonging 
to  the  English  East  India  Company,  armed  with 
twenty-six  twelve  pounders  and  manned  with  one 
hundred  and  fifty  men.  Expecting  that  the  enemy 
would  take  him  for  a  pilot  of  the  Ganges,  he  man- 
oeuvred accordingly.  The  Pagoda  manifested  no  sus- 
picions, whereupon  he  suddenly  darted  with  his  brave 
followers  upon  her  decks,  overturned  all  who  opposed 
them,  and  speedily  took  the  ship.  After  a  very  suc- 
cessful cruise  he  arrived  safe  at  the  Mauritius,  and 
took  the  command  of  La  Confjance  of  twenty-six  guns 
and  two  hundred  and  fifty  men,  and  sailed  for  the 
coast  of  British  India.  Off  the  Sand  Heads  in  Octo- 
ber, 1807,  Lafitte  fell  in  with  the  Queen  East  India- 
man,  with  a  crew  of  near  four  hundred  men,  and 
carrying  forty  guns;  he  conceived  the  bold  project  of 
getting  possession  of  her.  Never  was  there  beheld  a 
more  unequal  conflict;  even  the  height  of  the  vessel 
compared  to  the  feeble  privateer  augmented  the 
chances  against  Lafitte;  but  the  difficulty  and  danger 
far  from  discouraging  this  intrepid  sailor,  acted  as  an 
additional  spur  to  his  brilliant  valor.  After  electri- 
fying his  crew  with  a  few  words  of  hope  and  ardor, 
he  manoeuvred  and  ran  on  board  of  the  enemy.  In 
this  position  he  received  a  broadside  when  close  too; 
but  he  expected  this,  and  made  his  men  lay  flat  upon 


JEAN  LAFITTE  249 

the  deck.  After  the  first  fire  they  all  rose,  and  from 
the  yards  and  tops,  threw  bombs  and  grenades  into  the 
forecastle  of  the  Indiaman.  This  sudden  and  unfore- 
seen attack  caused  a  great  havoc.  In  an  instant, 
death  and  terror  made  them  abandon  a  part  of  the 
vessel  near  the  mizzen-mast.  Lafitte,  who  observed 
every  thing,  seized  the  decisive  moment,  beat  to  arms 
and  forty  of  his  crew  prepared  to  board,  with  pistols 
in  their  hands  and  daggers  held  between  their  teeth. 
As  soon  as  they  got  on  deck,  they  rushed  upon  the 
affrighted  crowd,  who  retreated  to  the  steerage,  and 
endeavored  to  defend  themselves  there.  Lafitte 
thereupon  ordered  a  second  division  to  board,  which 
he  headed  himself;  the  captain  of  the  Indiaman  was 
killed  and  all  were  swept  away  in  a  moment.  Lafitte 
caused  a  gun  to  be  loaded  with  grape,  which  he 
pointed  towards  the  place  where  the  crowd  was  assem- 
bled, threatening  to  exterminate  them.  The  English 
deeming  resistance  fruitless,  surrendered,  and  Lafitte 
hastened  to  put  a  stop  to  the  slaughter.  This  ex- 
ploit, hitherto  unparalleled,  resounded  through  India, 
and  the  name  of  Lafitte  became  the  terror  of  English 
commerce  in  these  latitudes. 

As  British  vessels  now  traversed  the  Indian  Ocean 
under  strong  convoys,  game  became  scarce,  and  Lafitte 
determined  to  visit  France;  and  after  doubling  the 
Cape  of  Good  Hope,  he  coasted  up  to  the  Gulf  of 
Guinea,  and  in  the  Bight  of  Benin,  took  two  valuable 
prizes  loaded  with  gold  dust,  ivory  and  Palm  Oil;  with 
this  booty  he  reached  St.  Maloes  in  safety.  After  a 
short  stay  at  his  native  place  he  fitted  out  a  brigantine, 
mounting  twenty  guns  and  one  hundred  and  fifty  men, 


250  GREAT  PIRATE  STORIES 

and  sailed  for  (iaudaloupe;  amrvigst  the  West  India 
Islands,  he  made  several  valuable  prizes;  but  during 
his  absence  on  a  cruise  the  island  having  been  taken  by 
tiic  British,  he  proceeded  to  Carthagena,  and  from 
thence  to  Barrataria.  After  this  period,  the  conduct 
of  Lafitte  at  Barrataria  does  not  appear  to  be  charac- 
terized by  the  audacity  and  boldness  of  his  former 
career;  but  he  had  amassed  immense  sums  of  booty, 
and  as  he  was  obliged  to  have  dealings  with  the  mer- 
chants of  the  United  States,  and  the  West  Indies,  who 
frequently  owed  him  large  sums,  and  the  cautious 
dealings  necessary  to  found  and  conduct  a  colony  of 
Pirates  and  Smugglers  in  the  very  teeth  of  a  civilized 
nation,  obliged  Lafitte  to  cloak  as  much  as  possible  his 
real  character. 

As  we  have  said  before,  at  the  period  of  the  taking 
of  Gaudaloupe  by  the  British,  most  of  the  privateers 
commissioned  by  the  government  of  that  island,  and 
which  were  then  on  a  cruise,  not  being  able  to  return 
to  any  of  the  West  India  Islands,  made  for  Barra- 
taria, there  to  take  in  a  supply  of  water  and  provi- 
sions, recruit  the  health  of  their  crews,  and  dispose  of 
their  prizes,  which  could  not  be  admitted  into  any  of 
the  ports  of  the  United  States,  we  being  at  that  time 
in  peace  with  Great  Britain.  Most  of  the  com- 
missions granted  to  privateers  by  the  French  govern- 
ment at  Gaudaloupe,  having  expired  sometime  after 
the  declaration  of  the  independence  of  Carthagena, 
many  of  the  privateeers  repaired  to  that  port,  for  the 
purpose  of  obtaining  from  the  new  government  com- 
missions for  cruising  against  Spanish  vessels.  Hav- 
ing duly  obtained  their  commissions,  they  in  a  manner 


JEAN  LAFITTE  251 

blockaded  for  a  long  time  all  the  ports  belonging  to 
the  royalists,  and  made  numerous  captives,  which  they 
carried  Into  Barratarla.  Under  this  denomination  Is 
comprised  part  of  the  coast  of  Louisiana  to  the  west  of 
the  mouths  of  the  Mississippi,  comprehended  between 
Bastlen  bay  on  the  east,  and  the  mouths  of  the  river 
or  bayou  la  Fourche  on  the  west.  Not  far  from  the 
sea  are  lakes  called  the  great  and  little  lakes  of  Barra- 
tarla, communicating  with  one  another  by  several 
large  bayous  with  a  great  number  of  branches. 
There  Is  also  the  Island  of  Barratarla,  at  the  extrem- 
ity of  which  Is  a  place  called  the  Temple,  which  de- 
nomination It  owes  to  several  mounds  of  shells  thrown 
up  there  by  the  Indians.  The  name  of  Barratarla 
is  also  given  to  a  large  basin  which  extends  the  whole 
length  of  the  cypress  swamps,  from  the  Gulf  of  Mex- 
ico to  three  miles  above  New  Orleans.  These  waters 
disembogue  Into  the  gulf  by  two  entrances  of  the 
bayou  Barratarla,  between  which  lies  an  Island  called 
Grand  Terre,  six  miles  In  length,  and  from  two  to 
three  miles  In  breadth,  running  parallel  with  the  coast. 
In  the  western  entrance  Is  the  great  pass  of  Barra- 
tarla, which  has  from  nine  to  ten  feet  of  water. 
Within  this  pass  about  two  leagues  from  the  open  sea, 
lies  the  only  secure  harbor  on  the  coast,  and  accord- 
ingly this  was  the  harbor  frequented  by  the  Pirates, 
so  well  known  by  the  name  of  Barratarlans. 

At  Grande  Terre,  the  privateers  publicly  made  sale 
by  auction,  of  the  cargoes  of  their  prizes.  From  all 
parts  of  Lower  Louisiana,  people  resorted  to  Barra- 
tarla, without  being  at  all  solicitous  to  conceal  the 
object  of  their  journey.     The  most  respectable  inhabi- 


252  GREAT  PIRATE  STORIES 

tants  of  tlic  state,  especially  those  living  in  the  coun- 
try, were  in  the  habit  of  purchasing  smuggled  goods 
coming  from  Barrataria. 

The  government  of  the  United  States  sent  an 
expedition  under  Commodore  l^atterson,  to  disperse 
the  settlement  of  marauders  at  Barrataria;  the  fol- 
lowing is  an  extract  of  his  letter  to  the  secretary  of 
war. 

Sir — I  have  the  honor  to  inform  you  that  I  departed 
from  this  city  on  the  iith  June,  accompanied  by  Col. 
Ross,  with  a  detachment  of  seventy  of  the  44th  regiment 
of  infantry.  On  the  12th,  reached  the  schooner  Caro- 
lina, of  Plaquemine,  and  formed  a  junction  with  the 
gun  vessels  at  the  Balize  on  the  13th,  sailed  from  the 
southwest  pass  on  the  evening  of  the  15th,  and  at  half 
past  8  o'clock,  A.M.  on  the  i6th,  made  the  Island  of 
Barrataria,  and  discovered  a  number  of  vessels  in  the 
harbor,  some  of  which  shewed  Carthagenian  colors.  At 
2  o'clock,  perceived  the  pirates  forming  their  vessels,  ten 
in  number,  including  prizes,  into  a  line  of  battle  near  the 
entrance  of  the  harbor,  and  making  every  preparation 
to  offer  me  battle.  At  10  o'clock,  wind  light  and  vari- 
able, formed  the  order  of  battle  with  six  gun  boats  and 
the  Sea  Horse  tender,  mounting  one  six  pounder  and 
fifteen  men,  and  a  launch  mounting  one  twelve  pound 
carronade ;  the  schooner  Carolina,  drawing  too  much 
water  to  cross  the  bar.  At  half  past  10  o'clock,  per- 
ceived several  smokes  along  the  coasts  as  signals,  and 
at  the  same  time  a  white  flag  hoisted  on  board  a  schooner 
at  the  fort,  an  American  flag  at  the  mainmast  head  and 
a  Carthagenian  flag  (under  which  the  pirates  cruise) 
at  her  topping  lift ;  replied  with  a  white  flag  at  my 
main;  at  11  o'clock,  discovered  that  the  pirates  had  fired 
two  of   their  best  schooners;  hauled   down  my  white 


JEAN  LAFITTE  253 

flag  and  made  the  signal  for  battle;  hoisting  with  a 
large  white  flag  bearing  the  words  "Pardon  for  Desert- 
ers" ;  having  heard  there  was  a  number  on  shore  from 
the  army  and  navy.  At  a  quarter  past  ii  o'clock,  two 
gun  boats  grounded  and  were  passed  agreeably  to  my 
previous  orders,  by  the  other  four  which  entered  the 
harbor,  manned  by  my  barge  and  the  boats  belonging 
to  the  grounded  vessels,  and  proceeded  in  to  my  great 
disappointment.  I  perceived  that  the  pirates  abandoned 
their  vessels,  and  were  flying  in  all  directions.  I  im- 
mediately sent  the  launch  and  two  barges  with  small 
boats  in  pursuit  of  them.  At  meridian,  took  possession 
of  all  their  vessels  in  the  harbor  consisting  of  six  schoon- 
ers and  one  felucca,  cruisers,  and  prizes  of  the  pirates, 
one  brig,  a  prize,  and  two  armed  schooners  under  the 
Carthagenian  flag,  both  in  the  line  of  battle,  with  the 
armed  vessels  of  the  pirates,  and  apparently  with  an  in- 
tention to  aid  them  in  any  resistance  they  might  make 
against  me,  as  their  crews  were  at  quarters,  tompions  out 
of  their  guns,  and  matches  lighted.  Col.  Ross  at  the 
same  time  landed,  and  with  his  command  took  possession 
of  their  establishment  on  shore,  consisting  of  about  forty 
houses  of  different  sizes,  badly  constructed,  and  thatched 
with  palmetto  leaves. 

When  I  perceived  the  enemy  forming  their  vessels 
into  a  line  of  battle  I  felt  confident  from  their  num- 
ber and  very  advantageous  position,  and  their  number 
of  men,  that  they  would  have  fought  me ;  their  not  do- 
ing so  I  regret ;  for  had  they,  I  should  have  been  enabled 
more  effectually  to  destroy  or  make  prisoners  of  them 
and  their  leaders;  but  it  is  a  subject  of  great  satisfaction 
to  me,  to  have  effected  the  object  of  my  enterprise,  with- 
out the  loss  of  a  man. 

The  enemy  had  mounted  on  their  vessels  twenty 
pieces  of  cannon  of  different  calibre;  and  as  I  have  since 


254  GREAT  PIRATE  STORIES 

learnt,  from  ciKlit  hundred,  to  one  thousand  men  of  all 
nations  and  eohjrs. 

Early  in  the  morninj;  of  the  20th,  the  Carolina  at  an- 
chor, ahout  five  miles  distant,  made  the  signal  of  a 
"strange  sail  in  si^ht  to  eastward";  immediately  after 
she  vveiij;hed  anchor,  and  gave  chase  the  stran^^e  sail, 
standing  for  Grand  Tcrre,  with  all  sail;  at  half  past 
8  o'clock,  the  chase  hauled  her  wind  off  shore  to  escape; 
sent  acting  Lieut.  Spedding  with  four  boats  manned 
and  armed  to  prevent  her  passing  the  harbor;  at  9 
o'clock,  A.  M.,  the  chase  fired  upon  the  Carolina,  which 
was  returned;  each  vessel  continued  firing  during  the 
chase,  when  their  long  guns  could  reach.  At  10  o'clock, 
the  chase  grounded  outside  of  the  bar,  at  which  time  the 
Carolina  was  from  the  shoalness  of  the  water  obliged 
to  haul  her  wind  off  shore  and  give  up  the  chase; 
opened  a  fire  upon  the  chase  across  the  island  from  the 
gun  vessels.  At  half  past  10  o'clock,  she  hauled  down 
her  colors  and  was  taken  possession  of.  She  proved 
to  be  the  armed  schooner  Gen.  Boliver;  by  grounding 
she  broke  both  her  rudder  pintles  and  made  water ;  took 
from  her  her  armament,  consisting  of  one  long  brass 
eighteen  pounder,  one  long  brass  six  pounder,  two 
twelve  pounders,  small  arms,  &c.,  and  twenty-one 
packages  of  drj^  goods.  On  the  afternoon  of  the  23d, 
got  underway  with  the  whole  squadron,  in  all  seven- 
teen vessels,  but  during  the  night  one  escaped,  and  the 
next  day  arrived  at  New  Orleans  with  my  whole 
squadron. 

At  different  times  the  English  had  sought  to  attack 
the  pirates  at  Barrataria,  in  hopes  of  taking  their 
prizes,  and  even  their  armed  vessels.  Of  these 
attempts  of  the  British,  suffice  it  to  instance  that  of 
June  23rd,  18 13,  when  two  privateers  being  at  anchor 


JEAN  LAFITTE  255 

off  Cat  Island,  a  British  sloop  of  war  anchored  at  the 
entrance  of  the  pass,  and  sent  her  boats  to  endeavor 
to  take  the  privateers;  but  they  were  repulsed  with 
considerable  loss. 

Such  was  the  state  of  affairs,  when  on  the  2d  Sept., 
1 8 14,  there  appeared  an  armed  brig  on  the  coast 
opposite  the  pass.  She  fired  a  gun  at  a  vessel  about 
to  enter,  and  forced  her  to  run  aground;  she  then 
tacked  and  shortly  after  came  to  an  anchor  at  the  en- 
trance of  the  pass.  It  was  not  easy  to  understand  the 
intentions  of  this  vessel,  who,  having  commenced  with 
hostilities  on  her  first  appearance  now  seemed  to 
announce  an  amicable  disposition.  Mr.  Lafitte  then 
went  off  in  a  boat  to  examine  her,  venturing  so  far  that 
he  could  not  escape  from  the  pinnace  sent  from  the 
brig,  and  making  towards  the  shore,  bearing  British 
colors  and  a  flag  of  truce.  In  this  pinnace  were  two 
naval  officers.  One  was  Capt.  Lockyer,  commander 
of  the  brig.  The  first  question  they  asked  was,  where 
was  Mr.  Lafitte?  he  not  choosing  to  make  himself 
known  to  them,  replied  that  the  person  they  inquired 
for  was  on  shore.  They  then  delivered  to  him  a 
packet  directed  to  Mr.  Lafitte,  Barrataria,  requesting 
him  to  take  particular  care  of  it,  and  to  deliver  it  into 
Mr.  Lafitte's  hands.  He  prevailed  on  them  to  make 
for  the  shore,  and  as  soon  as  they  got  near  enough  to 
be  in  his  power,  he  made  himself  known,  recommend- 
ing to  them  at  the  same  time  to  conceal  the  business 
on  which  they  had  come.  Upwards  of  two  hundred 
persons  lined  the  shore,  and  it  was  a  general  cry 
amongst  the  crews  of  the  privateers  at  Grand  Terre, 
that  those  British  officers  should  be  made  prisoners 


256  GREAT  PIRATE  STORIES 

and  sent  to  New  Orleans  as  spies.  It  was  with  much 
difficulty  that  Lafitte  dissuaded  the  multitude  from 
this  intent,  and  led  the  officers  in  safety  to  his  dwel- 
ling, lie  thought  very  prudently  that  the  papers 
contained  in  the  packet  might  be  of  importance 
towards  the  safety  of  the  country  and  that  the  officers 
if  well  watched  could  obtain  no  intelligence  that 
might  turn  to  the  detriment  of  Louisiana.  He  now 
examined  the  contents  of  the  packet,  in  which  he  found 
a  proclamation  addressed  by  Col.  Edward  Xichalls, 
in  the  service  of  his  Britannic  Majesty,  and  com- 
mander of  the  land  forces  on  the  coast  of  Florida,  to 
the  inhabitants  of  Louisiana.  A  letter  from  the  same 
to  Mr.  Lafitte,  the  commander  of  Barrataria;  an 
official  letter  from  the  honorable  W.  H.  Percy,  captain 
of  the  sloop  of  war  Hermes,  directed  to  Lafitte. 
When  he  had  perused  these  letters,  Capt.  Lockyer 
enlarged  on  the  subject  of  them  and  proposed  to 
him  to  enter  into  the  service  of  his  Britannic  Majesty 
with  the  rank  of  post  captain  and  to  receive  the  com- 
mand of  a  44  gun  frigate.  Also  all  those  under 
his  command,  or  over  whom  he  had  sufficient  in- 
fluence. He  was  also  offered  thirty  thousand  dollars, 
payable  at  Pensacola,  and  urged  him  not  to  let 
slip  this  opportunity  of  acquiring  fortune  and  consid- 
eration. On  Lafitte's  requiring  a  few  days  to  reflect 
upon  these  proposals,  Capt.  Lockyer  observed  to  him 
that  no  reflection  could  be  necessary  respecting  propos- 
als that  obviously  precluded  hesitation,  as  he  was  a 
Frenchman  and  proscribed  by  the  American  govern- 
ment. But  to  all  his  splendid  promises  and  daring 
insinuations,   Lafitte   replied   that   in   a    few   days   he 


JEAN  LAFITTE  257 

would  give  a  final  answer;  his  object  in  this  procras- 
tination being  to  gain  time  to  inform  the  officers 
of  the  state  government  of  this  nefarious  pro- 
ject. Having  occasion  to  go  to  some  distance  for  a 
short  time,  the  persons  who  had  proposed  to  send  the 
British  officers  prisoners  to  New  Orleans,  went  and 
seized  them  in  his  absence,  and  confined  both  them 
and  the  crew  of  the  pinnace,  in  a  secure  place,  leaving 
a  guard  at  the  door.  The  British  officers  sent  for 
Lafitte;  but  he,  fearing  an  insurrection  of  the  crews 
of  the  privateers,  thought  it  advisable  not  to  see  them 
until  he  had  first  persuaded  their  captains  and  officers 
to  desist  from  the  measures  on  which  they  seemed 
bent.  With  this  view  he  represented  to  the  latter 
that,  besides  the  infamy  that  would  attach  to  them  if 
they  treated  as  prisoners  people  who  had  come  with 
a  flag  of  truce,  they  would  lose  the  opportunity  of 
discovering  the  projects  of  the  British  against  Louis- 
iana. 

Early  the  next  morning  Lafitte  caused  them  to  be 
released  from  their  confinement  and  saw  them  safe  on 
board  their  pinnace,  apologizing  the  detention.  He 
now  wrote  to  Capt  Lockyer  the  following  letter. 

To  Captain  Lockyer. 

Barrataria,  ^th  Sept.   1 814. 

Sir — The  confusion  which  prevailed  in  our  camp 
yesterday  and  this  morning,  and  of  which  you  have  a 
complete  knowledge,  has  prevented  me  from  answer- 
ing in  a  precise  manner  to  the  object  of  your  mission; 
nor  even  at  this  moment  can  I  give  you  all  the  satis- 
faction that  you  desire;  however,  if  you  could  grant  me 
a  fortnight,  I  would  be  entirely  at  your  disposal  at  the 


258  GREAT  PIRATE  STORIES 

ciul  of  that  tiiTic.  'Iliis  delay  is  indispensable  to  enable 
inc  to  |)ut  my  affairs  in  Jirder.  You  may  communicate 
with  nie  hy  sending  a  boat  to  the  eastern  point  of  the 
pass,  where  1  v\ill  he  found.  You  have  inspired  me 
with  more  confidence  than  the  admiral,  your  superior 
officer,  could  have  done  himself ;  with  you  alone,  I  wish 
to  deal,  and  from  you  also  I  will  claim,  in  due  time  the 
reward  of  the  services,  which  I  may  render  t<j  y(ju. 

Yours,  &c., 

J.  Lafitte. 

His  object  in  writing  that  letter  was,  by  appearing 
disposed  to  accede  to  their  proposals,  to  give  time  to 
communicate  the  affair  to  the  officers  of  the  state 
government,  and  to  receive  from  them  Instructions 
how  to  act,  under  circumstances  so  critical  and  Impor- 
tant to  the  country.  He  accordingly  wrote  on  the  4th 
September  to  Mr.  Blanque,  one  of  the  representatives 
of  the  state,  sending  him  all  the  papers  delivered  to 
him  by  the  British  officers  with  a  letter  addressed 
to  his  excellency,  Gov.  Claiborne  of  the  state  of 
Louisiana. 

To  Gov.  Claiborne. 

Barrataria,  Sept.  4th,   1814. 

Sir — In  the  firm  persuasion  that  the  choice  made  of 
you  to  fill  the  office  of  first  magistrate  of  this  state, 
was  dictated  by  the  esteem  of  your  fellow  citizens,  and 
was  conferred  on  merit,  I  confidently  address  you  on  an 
affair  on  which,  may  depend  the  safety  of  this  country. 
I  offer  to  you  to  restore  to  this  state  several  citizens, 
who  perhaps  in  your  eyes  have  lost  that  sacred  title.  I 
offer  you  them,  however,  such  as  you  could  wish  to  find 
them,  ready  to  exert  their  utmost  efforts  in  defence  of 
the  country.     This  point  of  Louisiana,  which  I  occupy, 


JEAN  LAFITTE  259 

is  of  great  importance  in  the  present  crisis.  I  tender 
my  services  to  defend  it;  and  the  only  reward  I  ask 
is  that  a  stop  be  put  to  the  proscription  against  me  and 
my  adherents,  by  an  act  of  oblivion,  for  all  that  has  been 
done  hitherto.  I  am  the  stray  sheep  wishing  to  return 
to  the  fold.  If  you  are  thoroughly  acquainted  with 
the  nature  of  my  offences,  I  should  appear  to  you  much 
less  guilty,  and  still  worthy  to  discharge  the  duties  of 
a  good  citizen.  I  have  never  sailed  under  any  flag  but 
that  of  the  republic  of  Carthagena,  and  my  vessels  are 
perfectly  regular  in  that  respect.  If  I  could  have 
brought  my  lawful  prizes  into  the  ports  of  this  state, 
I  should  not  have  employed  the  illicit  means  that  have 
caused  me  to  be  proscribed.  I  decline  saying  more  on 
the  subject,  until  I  have  the  honor  of  your  excellency's 
answer,  which  I  am  persuaded  can  be  dictated  only  by 
wisdom.  Should  your  answer  not  be  favorable  to  my 
ardent  desires,  I  declare  to  you  that  I  will  instantly 
leave  the  country,  to  avoid  the  imputation  of  having 
cooperated  towards  an  invasion  on  this  point,  which  can- 
not fail  to  take  place,  and  to  rest  secure  in  the  acquittal 
of  my  conscience. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be 

your  excellency's,  &c. 

J.  Lafitte. 

The  contents  of  these  letters  do  honor  to  Lafitte's 
judgment,  and  evince  his  sincere  attachment  to  the 
American  cause.  On  the  receipt  of  this  packet  from 
Lafitte,  Mr.  Blanque  immediately  laid  its  contents  be- 
fore the  governor,  who  convened  the  committee  of 
defence  lately  formed  of  which  he  was  president; 
and  Mr.  Rancher,  the  bearer  of  Lafitte's  packet,  was 
sent  back  with  a  verbal  answer  to  desire  Lafitte  to 
take  no  steps  until  it  should  be  determined  what  was 


260  GREAT  PIRATE  STORIES 

expedient  to  be  done;  the  message  also  contained  an 
assurance  that,  in  the  meantime  no  steps  should  be 
taken  against  him  for  his  past  offences  against  the 
laws  of  the  United  States. 

At  the  expiration  of  the  time  agreed  on  with  Cap- 
tain Eockyer,  his  ship  appeared  again  on  the  coast  with 
two  others,  and  continued  standing  off  and  on  before 
the  pass  for  several  days.  But  he  pretended  not  to 
perceive  the  return  of  the  sloop  of  war,  who  tired  of 
waiting  to  no  purpose  put  out  to  sea  and  disappeared. 

Eafitte  having  received  a  guarantee  from  Cjeneral 
Jackson  for  his  safe  passage  from  Barrataria  to  New 
Orleans  and  back,  he  proceeded  forthwith  to  the  city 
where  he  had  an  interview  with  Gov.  Claiborne  and 
the  General.  After  the  usual  formalities  and  cour- 
tesies had  taken  place  between  these  gentlemen,  Ea- 
fitte addressed  the  Governor  of  Eouisiana  nearly  as 
follows.  "I  have  offered  to  defend  for  you  that  part 
of  Louisiana  I  now  hold.  But  not  as  an  outlaw, 
would  I  be  its  defender.  In  that  confidence,  with 
which  you  have  inspired  me,  I  offer  to  restore  to  the 
state  many  citizens,  now  under  my  command.  As  I 
have  remarked  before,  the  point  I  occupy  is  of  great 
importance  in  the  present  crisis.  I  tender  not  only 
my  own  services  to  defend  it,  but  those  of  all  I  com- 
mand; and  the  only  reward  I  ask,  is,  that  a  stop  be 
put  to  the  proscription  against  me  and  my  adherents, 
by  an  act  of  oblivion  for  all  that  has  been  done 
hitherto." 

"My  dear  sir,"  said  the  Governor,  who  together 
with  General  Jackson,  was  impressed  with  admiration 
of  his  sentiments,  "your  praiseworthy  wishes  shall  be 


JEAN  LAFITTE  261 

laid  before  the  council  of  the  state,  and  I  will  confer 
with  my  august  friend  here  present,  upon  this  impor- 
tant affair  and  send  you  an  answer  to-morrow."  As 
Lafitte  withdrew,  the  General  said,  "Farewell;  when 
we  meet  again,  I  trust  it  will  be  in  the  ranks  of  the 
American  army."  The  result  of  the  conference  was 
the  Issuing  of  the  following  order. 

"The  Governor  of  Louisiana,  informed  that  many 
Individuals  implicated.  In  the  offences  heretofore  com- 
mitted against  the  United  States  at  Barrataria, 
express  a  willingness  at  the  present  crisis  to  enroll 
themselves  and  march  against  the  enemy. 

"He  does  hereby  Invite  them  to  join  the  standard 
of  the  United  States  and  Is  authorised  to  say,  should 
their  conduct  in  the  field  meet  the  approbation  of  the 
Major  General,  that  that  officer  will  unite  with  the 
Governor  In  a  request  to  the  president  of  the  United 
States,  to  extend  to  each  and  every  Individual,  so 
marching  and  acting,  a  free  and  full  pardon."  These 
general  orders  were  placed  in  the  hands  of  Lafitte, 
who  circulated  them  among  his  dispersed  followers, 
most  of  whom  readily  embraced  the  conditions  of 
pardon  they  held  out.  In  a  few  days  many  brave  men 
and  skillful  artillerists,  whose  services  contributed 
greatly  to  the  safety  of  the  invaded  state,  flocked  to 
the  standard  of  the  United  States,  and  by  their  con- 
duct, received  the  highest  approbation  of  General 
Jackson. 

The  morning  of  the  eighth  of  January  was  ushered 
In  with  the  discharge  of  rockets,  the  sound  of  cannon, 
and  the  cheers  of  the  British  soldiers  advancing  to  the 
attack.     The     Americans,     behind     the     breastwork, 


262  GREAT  IMRATE  STORIES 

awaited  In  calm  intrepidity  their  approach.  The 
enemy  advanced  in  close  column  of  sixty  men  in  front, 
shouldering  their  muskets  and  carrying  fascines  and 
ladders.  A  storm  of  rockets  preceded  them,  and  an 
incessant  fire  oj)cned  from  the  battery  which  com- 
manded the  advanced  column.  The  musketry  and 
rifles  from  the  Kcntuckians  and  Tcnnessecans  joined 
the  fire  of  the  artillery,  and  in  a  few  moments  was 
heard  along  the  line  a  ceaseless,  rolling  fire,  whose 
tremendous  noise  resembled  the  continued  reverbera- 
tion of  thunder.  One  of  these  guns,  a  twenty-four 
pounder,  placed  upon  the  breastwork  in  the  third  em- 
brasure from  the  river,  drew,  from  the  fatal  skill  and 
activity  with  which  it  was  managed,  even  in  the  heat 
of  battle,  the  admiration  of  both  Americans  and  Brit- 
ish; and  became  one  of  the  points  most  dreaded  by 
the  advancing  foe. 

Here  was  stationed  Lafitte  and  his  lieutenant 
Dominique  and  a  large  band  of  his  men,  who  during 
the  continuance  of  the  battle,  fought  with  unparalleled 
bravery.  The  British  already  had  been  twice  driven 
back  in  the  utmost  confusion,  with  the  loss  of  their 
Commander-in-chief,  and  two  general  officers. 

Two  other  batteries  were  manned  by  the  Barra- 
tarians,  who  served  their  pieces  with  the  steadiness 
and  precision  of  veteran  gunners.  In  the  first  attack 
of  the  enemy,  a  column  pushed  forward  between  the 
levee  and  river;  and  so  precipitate  was  their  charge 
that  the  outposts  were  forced  to  retire,  closely  pressed 
by  the  enemy.  Before  the  batteries  could  meet  the 
charge,  clearing  the  ditch,  they  gained  the  redoubt 
through    the    embrasures,   leaping   over   the    parapet, 


JEAN  LAFITTE  263 

and  overwhelming  by  their  superior  force  the  small 
party  stationed  there. 

Lafitte,  who  was  commanding  in  conjunction  with 
his  officers,  at  one  of  the  guns,  no  sooner  saw  the  bold 
movement  of  the  enemy,  than  calling  a  few  of  his  best 
men  by  his  side,  he  sprung  forward  to  the  point  of 
danger,  and  clearing  the  breastwork  of  the  entrench- 
ments, leaped,  cutlass  in  hand,  into  the  midst  of  the 
enemy,  followed  by  a  score  of  his  men,  who  in  many 
a  hard  fought  battle  upon  his  own  deck,  had  been  well 
tried. 

Astonished  at  the  intrepidity  which  could  lead  men 
to  leave  their  entrenchments  and  meet  them  hand  to 
hand,  and  pressed  by  the  suddenness  of  the  charge, 
which  was  made  with  the  recklessness,  skill  and 
rapidity  of  practised  boarders  bounding  upon  the 
deck  of  an  enemy's  vessel,  they  began  to  give  way, 
while  one  after  another,  two  British  officers  fell  be- 
fore the  cutlass  of  the  pirate,  as  they  were  bravely  en- 
couraging their  men.  All  the  energies  of  the  British 
were  now  concentrated  to  scale  the  breastwork,  which 
one  daring  officer  had  already  mounted.  While 
Lafitte  and  his  followers,  seconding  a  gallant  band  of 
volunteer  riflemen,  formed  a  phalanx  which  they  in 
vain  essayed  to  penetrate. 

The  British  finding  it  impossible  to  take  the  city 
and  the  havock  in  their  ranks  being  dreadful,  made  a 
precipitate  retreat,  leaving  the  field  covered  with 
their  dead  and  wounded. 

General  Jackson,  in  his  correspondence  with  the 
secretary  of  war  did  not  fail  to  notice  the  conduct  of 
the  "Corsairs  of  Barrataria,"  who  were,  as  we  have 


264  GREAT  PIRATI-:  STORIES 

already  seen,  employed  in  llic  artillery  service.  In 
the  course  of  the  campaign  they  proved,  in  an  un- 
ccjuivocal  manner,  that  they  had  been  misjudged  by 
the  enemy,  who  a  short  time  previous  to  the  invasion 
of  Louisiana,  had  hoped  to  enlist  them  in  his  cause. 
Many  of  them  were  killed  or  wounded  in  the  defence 
of  the  country.  Iheir  zeal,  their  courage,  and  their 
skill,  were  remarked  by  the  whole  army,  who  could  no 
longer  consider  such  brave  men  as  criminals.  In  a 
few  days  peace  was  declared  between  Great  Britain 
and  the  United  States. 

The  piratical  establishment  of  Barrataria  having 
been  broken  up  and  Lafitte  not  being  content  with 
leading  an  honest,  peaceful  life,  procured  some  fast 
sailing  vessels,  and  with  a  great  number  of  his  fol- 
lowers, proceeded  to  Galvezton  Bay,  in  Texas,  dur- 
ing the  year  1819;  where  he  received  a  commission 
from  General  Long;  and  had  five  vessels  generally 
cruising  and  about  300  men.  Two  open  boats  bear- 
ing commissions  from  General  Humbert,  of  Galvez- 
ton, having  robbed  a  plantation  on  the  Marmento 
river,  of  negroes,  money,  &c.,  were  captured  in  the 
Sabine  river,  by  the  boats  of  the  United  States 
schooner  Lynx.  One  of  the  men  was  hung  by  Lafitte, 
who  dreaded  the  vengeance  of  the  American  govern- 
ment. The  Lynx  also  captured  one  of  his  schooners, 
and  her  prize  that  had  been  for  a  length  of  time  smug- 
gling in  the  Carmento.  One  of  his  cruisers,  named 
the  Jupiter,  returned  safe  to  Galvezton  after  a  short 
cruise  with  a  valuable  cargo,  principally  specie;  she  I 
was  the  first  vessel  that  sailed  under  the  authority  of 
Texas.     The    American    government    well    knowing 


I 


JEAN  LAFITTE  265 

that  where  Lafitte  was,  piracy  and  smuggling  would 
be  the  order  of  the  day,  sent  a  vessel  of  war  to  cruise 
in  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  and  scour  the  coasts  of  Texas. 
Lafitte  having  been  appointed  governor  of  Galvezton 
and  one  of  the  cruisers  being  stationed  oft  the  port  to 
watch  his  motions,  it  so  annoyed  him  that  he  wrote  the 
following  letter  to  her  commander.  Lieutenant  Madi- 
son. 

To  the  commandant  of  the  American  cruiser,  off  the 
port  of  Galvezton. 

Sir — I  am  convinced  that  you  are  a  cruiser  of  the 
navy,  ordered  by  your  government.  I  have  therefore 
deemed  it  proper  to  inquire  into  the  cause  of  your  liv- 
ing before  this  port  without  communicating  your  inten- 
tion. I  shall  by  this  message  inform  you,  that  the  port 
of  Galvezton  belongs  to  and  is  in  the  possession  of  the 
republic  of  Texas,  and  was  made  a  port  of  entry  the 
9th  October  last.  And  whereas  the  supreme  congress 
of  said  republic  have  thought  proper  to  appoint  me  as 
governor  of  this  place,  in  consequence  of  which,  if  you 
have  any  demands  on  said  government,  or  persons  be- 
longing to  or  residing  in  the  same,  you  will  please  to 
send  an  officer  with  such  demands,  whom  you  may  be 
assured  will  be  treated  with  the  greatest  politeness,  and 
receive  every  satisfaction  required.  But  if  you  are  or- 
dered, or  should  attempt  to  enter  this  port  in  a  hostile 
manner,  my  oath  and  duty  to  the  government  compels 
me  to  rebut  your  intentions  at  the  expense  of  my  life. 

To  prove  to  you  my  intentions  towards  the  welfare 
and  harmony  of  your  government  I  send  enclosed  the 
declaration  of  several  prisoners,  who  were  taken  in 
custody  yesterday,  and  by  a  court  of  inquiry  appointed 
for  that  purpose,  were  found  guilty  of  robbing  the  in- 
habitants of  the  United  States  of  a  number  of  slaves 


266  GREAT  PIRATE  STORIES 

and  specie.  The  gentlemen  bearing  this  message  will 
give  you  any  reasonable  information  relating  t(;  this 
place,  that  may  be  required. 

Yours,  &c. 

J.  Lafjtte. 

About  this  time  one  Mitchell,  who  had  formerly 
belonged  to  Lafitte's  gang,  collected  upwards  of  one 
hundred  and  fifty  desperadoes  and  fortified  himself 
on  an  island  near  Barrataria,  with  several  pieces  of 
cannon;  and  sw(;rc  that  he  and  all  his  comrades  would 
perish  within  their  trenches  before  they  would  surren- 
der to  any  man.  Four  of  this  gang  having  gone  to 
New  Orleans  on  a  frolic,  information  was  given  to  the 
city  watch,  and  the  house  surrounded,  when  the  whole 
four  with  cocked  pistols  in  both  hands  sallied  out  and 
marched  through  the  crowd  which  made  way  for  them 
and  no  person  dared  to  make  an  attempt  to  arrest 
them. 

The  United  States  cutter,  Alabama,  on  her  way  to 
the  station  of^  the  mouth  of  the  Mississippi,  captured 
a  piratical  schooner  belonging  to  Lafitte;  she  carried 
two  guns  and  twenty-five  men,  and  was  fitted  out  at 
New  Orleans,  and  commanded  by  one  of  Lafitte's 
lieutenants,  named  Le  Page;  the  schooner  had  a  prize 
in  company  and  being  hailed  by  the  cutter,  poured  into 
her  a  volley  of  musketry;  the  cutter  then  opened  upon 
the  privateer  and  a  smart  action  ensued  which  ter- 
minated in  favor  of  the  cutter,  which  had  four  men 
wounded  and  two  of  them  dangerously;  but  the  pirate 
had  six  men  killed;  both  vessels  were  captured  and 
brought  into  the  Bayou  St.  John.  An  expedition  was 
now  sent  to  dislodge  Mitchell  and  his  comrades  from 


JEAN  LAFITTE  267 

the  Island  he  had  taken  possession  of;  after  coming 
to  anchor,  a  summons  was  sent  for  him  to  surrender, 
which  was  answered  by  a  brisk  cannonade  from  his 
breastwork.  The  vessels  were  warped  close  in  shore; 
and  the  boats  manned  and  sent  on  shore  whilst  the 
vessels  opened  upon  the  pirates;  the  boat's  crews 
landed  under  a  galling  fire  of  grape  shot  and  formed 
in  the  most  undaunted  manner;  and  although  a  severe 
loss  was  sustained  they  entered  the  breastwork  at  the 
point  of  the  bayonet;  after  a  desperate  fight  the 
pirates  gave  way,  many  were  taken  prisoners  but  Mit- 
chell and  the  greatest  part  escaped  to  the  cypress 
swamps  where  it  was  impossible  to  arrest  them. 

A  large  quantity  of  dry  goods  and  specie  together 
with  other  booty  was  taken.  Twenty  of  the  pirates 
were  taken  and  brought  to  New  Orleans,  and  tried 
before  Judge  Hall,  of  the  Circuit  Court  of  the  United 
States,  sixteen  were  brought  in  guilty;  and  after  the 
Judge  had  finished  pronouncing  sentence  of  death 
upon  the  hardened  wretches,  several  of  them  cried  out 
in  open  court.  Murder — by  God. 

Accounts  of  these  transactions  having  reached  La- 
fitte,  he  plainly  perceived  there  was  a  determination 
to  sweep  all  his  cruisers  from  the  sea ;  and  a  war  of  ex- 
termination appeared  to  be  waged  against  him. 

In  a  fit  of  desperation  he  procured  a  large  and  fast 
sailing  brigantine  mounting  sixteen  guns  and  having 
selected  a  crew  of  one  hundred  and  sixty  men  he 
started  without  any  commission  as  a  regular  pirate 
determined  to  rob  all  nations  and  neither  to  give  or 
receive  quarter.  A  British  sloop  of  war  which  was 
cruising  in  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  having  heard  that  La- 


268  GREAT  PIRATE  STORIES 

fitte  himself  was  at  sea,  kept  a  sharp  look  out  from  the 
mast  head;  when  one  morninj^  as  an  officer  was  sweep- 
ing the  horizon  with  his  glass  he  discovered  a  long 
dark  looking  vessel,  low  in  the  water,  but  having  very 
tall  masts,  with  sails  white  as  the  driven  snow.  As 
the  sloop  of  war  had  the  weather  gage  of  the  pirate 
and  could  outsail  her  before  the  wind,  she  set  her  stud- 
ding sails  and  crowded  every  inch  of  canvass  in  chase; 
as  soon  as  Lafitte  ascertained  the  character  of  his 
opponent,  he  ordered  the  awnings  to  be  furled  and  set 
his  big  square-sail  and  shot  rapidly  through  the  water; 
but  as  the  breeze  freshened  the  sloop  of  war  came  up 
rapidly  with  the  pirate,  who,  finding  no  chance  of  es- 
caping, determined  to  sell  his  life  as  dearly  as  pos- 
sible; the  guns  were  cast  loose  and  the  shot  handed  up; 
and  a  fire  opened  upon  the  ship  which  killed  a  number 
of  men  and  carried  away  her  foretopmast,  but  she  re- 
served her  fire  until  within  cable's  distance  of  the 
pirate;  when  she  fired  a  general  discharge  from  her 
broadside,  and  a  volley  of  small  arms;  the  broadside 
was  too  much  elevated  to  hit  the  low  hull  of  the  brig- 
antine,  but  was  not  without  effect;  the  foretopmast 
fell,  the  jaws  of  the  main  gaff  were  severed  and  a  large 
proportion  of  the  rigging  came  rattling  down  on  deck; 
ten  of  the  pirates  were  killed,  but  Lafitte  remained 
unhurt.  The  sloop  of  war  entered  her  men  over  the 
starboard  bow  and  a  terrific  contest  with  pistols  and 
cutlasses  ensued;  Lafitte  received  two  wounds  at  this 
time  which  disabled  him,  a  grape  shot  broke  the  bone 
of  his  right  leg  and  he  received  a  cut  in  the  abdomen, 
but  his  crew  fought  like  tigers  and  the  deck  was  ankle 
deep  with  blood  and  gore;  the  captain  of  the  boarders 


JEAN  LAFITTE  269 

received  such  a  tremendous  blow  on  the  head  from  the 
butt  end  of  a  musket,  as  stretched  him  senseless  on  the 
deck  near  Lafitte,  who  raised  his  dagger  to  stab  him  to 
the  heart.  But  the  tide  of  his  existence  was  ebbing 
like  a  torrent,  his  brain  was  giddy,  his  aim  faltered 
and  the  point  descended  in  the  Captain's  right  thigh; 
dragging  away  the  blade  with  the  last  convulsive 
energy  of  a  death  struggle,  he  lacerated  the  wound. 
Again  the  reeking  steel  was  upheld,  and  Lafitte  placed 
his  hand  near  the  Captain's  heart,  to  make  his  aim 
more  sure;  again  the  dizziness  of  dissolution  spread 
over  his  sight,  down  came  the  dagger  into  the  captain's 
left  thigh  and  Lafitte  was  a  corpse. 

The  upper  deck  was  cleared,  and  the  boarders 
rushed  below  on  the  main  deck  to  complete  their  con- 
quest. Here  the  slaughter  was  dreadful,  till  the 
pirates  called  out  for  quarter,  and  the  carnage  ceased; 
all  the  pirates  that  surrendered  were  taken  to  Jamaica 
and  tried  before  the  Admiralty  court  where  sixteen 
were  condemned  to  die,  six  were  subsequently  par- 
doned and  ten  executed. 

Thus  perished  Lafitte,  a  man  superior  in  talent,  in 
knowledge  of  his  profession,  in  courage,  and  more- 
over in  physical  strength ;  but  unfortunately  his  reck- 
less career  was  marked  with  crimes  of  the  darkest 
dye. 


IN  MALAY  WATERS 
[From  "'I"hc  i^iratcs'  Own  Book."] 

ACjLANCF.  at  the  map  of  the  East  India 
Islands  will  convince  us  that  this  region  of  the 
globe  must,  from  its  natural  configuration 
and  locality,  be  peculiarly  liable  to  become  the  seat 
of  piracy.  These  islands  form  an  immense  cluster, 
lying  as  if  it  were  in  the  high  road  which  connects 
the  commercial  nations  of  Europe  and  Asia  with  each 
other,  affording  a  hundred  fastnesses  from  which  to 
waylay  the  traveller.  A  large  proportion  of  the  pop- 
ulation is  at  the  same  time  confined  to  the  coasts  or  the 
estuaries  of  rivers;  they  are  fishermen  and  mariners; 
they  are  barbarous  and  poor,  therefore  rapacious, 
faithless  and  sanguinary.  These  are  circumstances,  it 
must  be  confessed,  which  militate  strongly  to  beget  a 
piratical  character.  It  is  not  surprising,  then,  that 
the  Malays  should  have  been  notorious  for  their  dep- 
redations from  our  first  acquaintance  with  them. 

Among  the  tribes  of  the  Indian  Islands,  the  most 
noted  for  their  piracies  are,  of  course,  the  most  idle, 
and  the  least  industrious,  and  particularly  such  as  are 
unaccustomed  to  follow  agriculture  or  trade  as  regular 
pursuits.  The  agricultural  tribes  of  Java,  and  many 
of  Sumatra,  never  commit  piracy  at  all;  and  the  most 
civilized  inhabitants  of  Celebes  are  very  little  addicted 
to  this  vice. 

270 


IN  MALAY  WATERS  271 

Among  the  most  confirmed  pirates  are  the  true 
Malays,  inhabiting  the  small  islands  about  the  eastern 
extremity  of  the  straits  of  Malacca,  and  those  lying 
between  Sumatra  and  Borneo,  down  to  Billitin  and 
Cavimattir.  Still  more  noted  than  these,  are  the  in- 
habitants of  certain  islands  situated  between  Borneo 
and  the  Philippines,  of  whom  the  most  desperate  and 
enterprising  are  the  Soolos  and  Illanoons,  the  former 
inhabiting  a  well  known  group  of  islands  of  the  same 
name,  and  the  latter  being  one  of  the  most  numerous 
nations  of  the  great  island  of  Magindando.  The 
depredations  of  the  proper  Malays  extend  from  Junk- 
ceylon  to  Java,  through  its  whole  coast,  as  far  as  Grip 
to  Papir  and  Kritti,  in  Borneo  and  the  western  coast 
of  Celebes.  In  another  direction  they  infest  the  coast- 
ing trade  of  the  Cochin  Chinese  and  Siamese  nations 
in  the  Gulf  of  Slam,  finding  sale  for  their  booty,  and 
shelter  for  themselves  In  the  ports  of  Tringham,  Cal- 
antan  and  Sahang.  The  most  noted  piratical  stations 
of  these  people  are  the  small  Islands  about  LIngin  and 
Rhio,  particularly  Galang,  Tamiang  and  Maphar. 
The  chief  of  this  last  has  seventy  or  eighty  proas  fit  to 
undertake  piratical  expeditions. 

The  Soolo  pirates  chiefly  confine  their  depredations 
to  the  Philliplne  Islands,  which  they  have  continued 
to  infest,  with  little  interruption,  for  near  three  cen- 
turies, in  open  defiance  of  the  Spanish  authorities,  and 
the  numerous  establishments  maintained  to  check  them. 
The  piracies  of  the  Illanoons,  on  the  contrary,  are 
widely  extended,  being  carried  on  all  the  way  from 
their  native  country  to  the  Spice  Islands,  on  one  side, 
and  to  the  Straits  of  Malacca  on  the  other.     In  these 


172  GREAT  PIRATE  STORIES 

last,  indccti,  they  have  formed,  for  the  last  few  years, 
two  permanent  establishments;  one  of  these  situated 
on  Sumatra,  near  Indragiri,  is  called  Ritti,  and  the 
other  a  small  island  on  the  coast  of  Linga,  is  named 
Salangut.  Besides  those  who  are  avowed  pirates,  it 
ought  to  be  particularly  noticed  that  a  great  number 
of  the  Malayan  princes  must  be  considered  as  acces- 
sories to  their  crimes,  for  they  afford  them  protection, 
contribute  to  their  outfit,  and  often  share  in  their 
booty;  so  that  a  piratical  proa  is  too  commonly  more 
welcome  in  their  harbours  than  a  fair  trader. 

The  Malay  piratical  proas  are  from  six  to  eight 
tons  burden,  and  run  from  six  to  eight  fathoms  in 
length.  They  carry  from  one  to  two  small  guns,  with 
commonly  four  swivels  or  rantakas  to  each  side,  and 
a  crew  of  from  twenty  to  thirty  men.  When  they 
engage,  they  put  up  a  strong  bulwark  of  thick  plank; 
the  lUanoon  proas  are  much  larger  and  more  formid- 
able, and  commonly  carry  from  four  to  six  guns,  and 
a  proportionable  number  of  swivels,  and  have  not  un- 
frequently  a  double  bulwark  covered  with  buffalo 
hides;  their  crews  consist  of  from  forty  to  eighty  men. 
Both,  of  course,  are  provided  with  spears,  krisses,  and 
as  many  fire  arms  as  they  can  procure.  Their  modes 
of  attack  are  cautious  and  cowardly,  for  plunder  and 
not  fame  is  their  object.  They  lie  concealed  under 
the  land,  until  they  find  a  fit  object  and  opportunity. 
The  time  chosen  is  when  a  vessel  runs  aground,  or  is 
becalmed,  in  the  interval  between  the  land  and  sea 
breezes.  A  vessel  underway  is  seldom  or  never  at- 
tacked. Several  of  the  marauders  attack  together, 
and  station  themselves  under  the  bows  and  quarters 


IN  MALAY  WATERS  273 

of  a  ship  when  she  has  no  longer  steerage  way,  and  Is 
incapable  of  pointing  her  guns.  The  action  continues 
often  for  several  hours,  doing  very  little  mischief; 
but  when  the  crew  are  exhausted  with  the  defence,  or 
have  expended  their  ammunition,  the  pirates  take  this 
opportunity  of  boarding  in  a  mass.  This  may  sug- 
gest the  best  means  of  defence.  A  ship,  when  at- 
tacked during  a  calm,  ought,  perhaps,  rather  to  stand 
on  the  defensive,  and  wait  if  possible  the  setting  In  of 
the  sea  breeze,  than  attempt  any  active  operations, 
which  would  only  fatigue  the  crew,  and  disable  them 
from  making  the  necessary  defence  when  boarding  Is 
attempted.  Boarding  netting,  pikes  and  pistols,  ap- 
pear to  afford  effectual  security;  and,  indeed,  we  con- 
ceive that  a  vessel  thus  defended  by  resolute  crews  of 
Europeans  or  Americans  stand  but  little  danger  from 
any  open  attack  of  pirates  whatsoever;  for  their  guns 
are  so  111  served,  that  neither  the  hull  or  the  rigging 
of  a  vessel  can  receive  much  damage  from  them,  how- 
ever much  protracted  the  contest.  The  pirates  are 
upon  the  whole  extremely  impartial  in  the  selection 
of  their  prey,  making  little  choice  between  natives  and 
strangers,  giving  always,  however,  a  natural  prefer- 
ence to  the  most  timid,  and  the  most  easily  overcome. 
When  an  expedition  is  undertaken  by  the  Malay 
pirates,  they  range  themselves  under  the  banner  of 
some  piratical  chief  noted  for  his  courage  and  conduct. 
The  native  prince  of  the  place  where  it  is  prepared, 
supplies  the  adventurers  with  arms,  ammunition  and 
opium,  and  claims  as  his  share  of  the  plunder,  the 
female  captives,  the  cannon,  and  one  third  of  all  the 
rest  of  the  booty. 


274  GREAT  PIRATE  STORIES 

In  Nov.  1827,  a  principal  chief  of  pirates,  named 
Slrulana,  made  a  descent  upon  Mamoodgoo  with  forty- 
live  proas,  burnt  three-fourths  of  the  campong,  driv- 
ing the  rajah  with  his  family  among  the  mountains. 
Some  scores  of  men  were  killed,  and  300  made  pris- 
oners, besides  women  and  children  to  half  that  amount. 
In  December  following,  when  I  was  there,  the  people 
were  slowly  returning  from  the  hills,  but  had  not  yet 
attempted  to  rebuild  the  campong,  which  lay  in  ashes. 
During  my  stay  here  (ten  weeks)  the  place  was  visited 
by  two  other  piratical  chiefs,  one  of  which  was  from 
Kylle,  the  other  from  Mandhaar  Point  under  Bern 
Bowan,  who  appeared  to  have  charge  of  the  whole; 
between  them  they  had  134  proas  of  all  sizes. 

Among  the  most  desperate  and  successful  pirates  of 
the  present  day,  Raga  is  most  distinguished.  He  is 
dreaded  by  people  of  all  denominations,  and  uni- 
versally known  as  the  "prince  of  pirates."  For  more 
than  seventeen  years  this  man  has  carried  on  a  system 
of  piracy  to  an  extent  never  before  known;  his  expe- 
ditions and  enterprizes  would  fill  a  large  volume. 
They  have  invariably  been  marked  with  singular  cun- 
ning and  intelligence,  barbarity,  and  reckless  inatten- 
tion to  the  shedding  of  human  blood.  He  has 
emissaries  everywhere,  and  has  intelligence  of  the 
best  description.  It  was  about  the  year  18 13  Raga 
commenced  operations  on  a  large  scale.  In  that  year 
he  cut  off  three  English  vessels,  killing  the  captains 
with  his  own  hands.  So  extensive  were  his  depreda- 
tions about  that  time  that  a  proclamation  was  issued 
from  Batavia,  declaring  the  east  coast  of  Borneo  to 
be  under  strict  blockade.     Two  British  sloops  of  war 


IN  MALAY  WATERS  275 

scoured  the  coast.  One  of  which,  the  Elk,  Capt. 
Reynolds,  was  attacked  during  the  night  by  Raga's 
own  proa,  who  unfortunately  was  not  on  board  at  the 
time.  This  proa  which  Raga  personally  commanded, 
and  the  loss  of  which  he  frequently  laments,  carried 
eight  guns  and  was  full  of  his  best  men. 

An  European  vessel  was  faintly  descried  about  three 
o'clock  one  foggy  morning;  the  rain  fell  in  torrents; 
the  time  and  weather  were  favorable  circumstances 
for  a  surprise,  and  the  commander  determined  to  dis- 
tinguish himself  in  the  absence  of  the  Rajah  Raga, 
gave  directions  to  close,  fire  the  guns  and  board.  He 
was  the  more  confident  of  success,  as  the  European 
vessel  was  observed  to  keep  away  out  of  the  proper 
course  on  approaching  her.  On  getting  within  about 
an  hundred  fathoms  of  the  Elk  they  fired  their  broad- 
side, gave  a  loud  shout,  and  with  their  long  oars  pulled 
towards  their  prey.  The  sound  of  a  drum  beating  to 
quarters  no  sooner  struck  the  ear  of  the  astonished 
Malays  than  they  endeavoured  to  get  away:  it  was 
too  late;  the  ports  were  opened,  and  a  broadside,  ac- 
companied with  three  British  cheers,  gave  sure  indica- 
tions of  their  fate.  The  captain  hailed  the  Elk,  and 
would  fain  persuade  him  it  was  a  mistake.  It  was 
Indeed  a  mistake,  and  one  not  to  be  rectified  by  the 
Malayan  explanation.  The  proa  was  sunk  by  re- 
peated broadsides,  and  the  commanding  officer  refused 
to  pick  up  any  of  the  people,  who,  with  the  exception 
of  five,  were  drowned;  these,  after  floating  four  days 
on  some  spars,  were  picked  up  by  a  Pergottan  proa, 
and  told  the  story  to  Raga,  who  swore  anew  destruc- 
tion to   every  European   he   should  henceforth   take. 


276  GREAT  PIRATE  STORIES 

riiis  desperado  has  for  upwards  of  seventeen  years 
been  tlic  terror  of  the  Straits  of  Macassar,  during 
which  period  he  lias  committed  the  most  extensive  and 
dreadful  excesses  sparing  no  one.  Pew  respectable 
families  along  the  coast  of  Borneo  and  Celebes  but 
have  to  complain  of  the  loss  of  a  proa,  or  of  some 
number  of  their  race;  he  is  not  more  universally 
dreaded  than  detested;  it  is  well  known  that  he  has 
cut  off  and  murdered  the  crews  of  more  than  forty 
European  vessels,  which  have  either  been  wrecked  on 
the  coasts,  or  entrusted  themselves  in  native  ports.  It 
is  his  boast  that  twenty  of  the  commanders  have  fallen 
by  his  hands.  The  western  coast  of  Celebes,  for 
about  250  miles,  is  absolutely  lined  with  proas  belong- 
ing principally  to  three  considerable  rajahs,  who  act 
in  conjunction  with  Raga  and  other  pirates.  Their 
proas  may  be  seen  in  clusters  of  from  50,  80,  and  100 
(at  Sediano  I  counted  147  laying  on  the  sand  at  high 
water  mark  in  parallel  rows,)  and  kept  in  a  horizontal 
position  by  poles,  completely  ready  for  the  sea.  Im- 
mediately behind  them  are  the  campongs,  in  which  are 
the  crews;  here  likewise  are  kept  the  sails,  gun-powder, 
&c.  necessary  for  their  equipment.  On  the  very  sum- 
mits of  the  mountains,  which  in  many  parts  rise 
abruptly  from  the  sea,  may  be  distinguished  innumer- 
able huts;  here  reside  people  who  are  constantly  on 
the  look-out.  A  vessel  within  ten  miles  of  the  shore 
will  not  probably  perceive  a  single  proa,  yet  in  less 
than  two  hours,  if  the  tide  be  high,  she  may  be  sur- 
rounded by  some  hundreds.  Should  the  water  be  low 
they  will  push  off  during  the  night.  Signals  are  made 
from  mountain  to  mountain  along  the  coast  with  the 


IN  MALAY  WATERS  277 

utmost  rapidity;  during  the  day  time  by  flags  attached 
to  long  bamboos;  at  night,  by  fires.  Each  chief  sends 
forth  his  proas,  the  crews  of  which.  In  hazardous  cases, 
are  infuriated  with  opium,  when  they  will  most  as- 
suredly take  the  vessel  If  she  be  not  better  provided 
than  most  merchantmen. 

Mr.  Dalton,  who  went  to  the  Pergottan  river  in 
1830,  says,  "whilst  I  remained  here,  there  were  71 
proas  of  considerable  sizes,  39  of  which  were  pro- 
fessed pirates.  They  were  anchored  off  the  point  of 
a  small  promontory,  on  which  the  rajah  has  an  estab- 
lishment and  bazaar.  The  largest  of  these  proas  be- 
longed to  Raga,  who  received  by  the  fleet  of  proas, 
in  which  I  came,  his  regular  supplies  of  arms  and  am- 
munition from  Singapore.  Here  nestle  the  principal 
pirates,  and  Raga  holds  his  head  quarters;  his  grand 
depot  was  a  few  miles  farther  up.  Rajah  Agi  Bota 
himself  generally  resides  some  distance  up  a  small  river 
which  runs  eastward  of  the  point;  near  his  habitation 
stands  the  principal  bazaar,  which  would  be  a  great 
curiosity  for  an  European  to  visit  if  he  could  only 
manage  to  return,  which  very  few  have.  The  Rajah 
gave  me  a  pressing  invitation  to  spend  a  couple  of 
days  at  his  country  house,  but  all  the  Bugis'  nacodahs 
strongly  dissuaded  me  from  such  an  attempt.  I  soon 
discovered  the  cause  of  their  apprehension;  they  were 
jealous  of  Agl  Botta,  well  knowing  he  would  plunder 
me,  and  considered  every  article  taken  by  him  was  so 
much  lost  to  the  Sultan  of  Coti,  who  naturally  would 
expect  the  people  to  reserve  me  for  his  own  particular 
plucking.  When  the  fact  was  known  of  an  European 
having  arrived  in   the  Pergottan  river,   this   amiable 


278  GREAT  IMRATE  STORIES 

prince  and  friend  of  Europeans,  impatient  to  seize  his 
prey,  came  immediately  to  the  point  from  his  country 
house,  and  sending  for  the  nacodah  of  the  proa,  or- 
dered him  to  land  me  and  all  my  goods  instantly. 
An  invitation  now  came  for  me  to  go  on  shore  and 
amuse  myself  with  shooting,  and  look  at  some  rare 
hirds  of  beautiful  plumage  which  the  rajah  would  give 
me  if  I  would  accept  of  them;  but  knowing  what  were 
his  intentions,  and  being  well  aware  that  T  should  be 
supported  by  all  the  iiugis'  proas  from  CotI,  1  feigned 
sickness,  and  requested  that  the  birds  might  be  sent 
on  board.  Upon  this  Agi  Bota,  who  could  no  longer 
restrain  himself,  sent  off  two  boats  of  armed  men, 
who  robbed  me  of  many  articles,  and  would  certainly 
have  forced  me  on  shore,  or  murdered  me  in  the  proa 
had  not  a  signal  been  made  to  the  Bugis'  nacodahs, 
who  immediately  came  with  their  people,  and  with 
spears  and  krisses,  drove  the  rajah's  people  overboard. 
The  nacodahs,  nine  in  number,  now  went  on  shore, 
when  a  scene  of  contention  took  place  showing  clearly 
the  character  of  this  chief.  The  Bugis  from  Coti 
explained,  that  with  regard  to  me  it  was  necessary  to 
be  particularly  circumspect,  as  I  was  not  only  well 
known  at  Singapore,  but  the  authorities  in  that  settle- 
ment knew  that  I  was  on  board  the  Sultan's  proa,  and 
they  themselves  were  responsible  for  my  safety.  To 
this  circumstance  alone  I  owe  my  life  on  several  occa- 
sions, as  in  the  event  of  any  thing  happening  to  me, 
every  nacodah  was  apprehensive  of  his  proa  being 
seized  on  his  return  to  Singapore;  I  was  therefore 
more  peculiarly  cared  for  by  this  class  of  men,  and 
they  are  powerful.     The   Rajah  answered  the   naco- 


IN  MALAY  WATERS  279 

dahs  by  saying,  I  might  be  disposed  of  as  many  others 
had  been,  and  no  further  notice  taken  of  the  circum- 
stance; he  himself  would  write  to  Singapore  that  I 
had  been  taken  by  an  alligator,  or  bitten  by  a  snake 
whilst  out  shooting;  and  as  for  what  property  I  might 
have  in  the  proa  he  would  divide  it  with  the  Sultan 
of  Coti.  The  Bugis,  however,  refused  to  listen  to 
any  terms,  knowing  the  Sultan  of  Coti  would  call  him 
to  an  account  for  the  property,  and  the  authorities  of 
Singapore  for  my  life.  Our  proa,  with  others,  there- 
fore dropped  about  four  miles  down  the  river,  where 
we  took  in  fresh  water.  Here  we  remained  six  days, 
every  argument  being  in  vain  to  entice  me  on  shore. 
At  length  the  Bugis'  nacodahs  came  to  the  determina- 
tion to  sail  without  passes,  which  brought  the  rajah 
to  terms.  The  proas  returned  to  the  point,  and  I 
was  given  to  understand  I  might  go  on  shore  in  safety. 
I  did  so,  and  was  introduced  to  the  Rajah  whom  I 
found  under  a  shed,  with  about  150  of  his  people;  they 
were  busy  gambling,  and  had  the  appearance  of  what 
they  really  are,  a  ferocious  set  of  banditti.  Agi  Bota 
is  a  good  looking  man,  about  forty  years  of  age,  of 
no  education  whatever;  he  divides  his  time  between 
gaming,  opium  and  cockfighting;  that  is  in  the  interval 
of  his  more  serious  and  profitable  employment,  piracy 
and  rapine.  He  asked  me  to  produce  what  money 
I  had  about  me;  on  seeing  only  ten  rupees,  he  re- 
marked that  it  was  not  worth  while  to  win  so  small  a 
sum,  but  that  if  I  would  fight  cocks  with  him  he  would 
lend  me  as  much  money  as  I  wanted,  and  added  it  was 
beneath  his  dignity  to  fight  under  fifty  reals  a  battle. 
On  my  saying  it  was  contrary  to  an  Englishman's  re- 


280  GRFAT  PIRATE  STORIES 

ligion  to  bet  wagers,  he  dismissed  me;  immediately 
after  tlie  two  rajahs  produced  their  cocks  and  com- 
menced fighting  for  one  rupee  a  side.  I  was  now 
obhged  to  give  the  old  Baudarre  five  rupees  to  take 
some  care  of  me,  as  whilst  walking  about,  the  people 
not  only  thrust  their  hands  into  my  pockets,  but  pulled 
the  buttons  from  my  clothes.  Whilst  sauntering  be- 
hind the  rajah's  campong  I  caught  sight  of  an  Euro- 
pean woman,  who  on  perceiving  herself  observed, 
instantly  ran  into  one  of  the  houses,  no  doubt  dreading 
the  consequences  of  being  recognized.  1  here  are 
now  in  the  house  of  Agi  Bota  two  European  women; 
up  the  country  there  are  others,  besides  several  men. 
The  Bugis,  inimical  to  the  rajah,  made  no  secret  of 
the  fact;  I  had  heard  of  it  on  board  the  proa,  and 
some  person  in  the  bazaar  confirmed  the  statement. 
On  my  arrival,  strict  orders  had  been  given  to  the  in- 
habitants to  put  all  European  articles  out  of  sight. 
One  of  my  servants  going  into  the  bazaar,  brought 
me  such  accounts  as  induced  me  to  visit  it.  In  one 
house  were  the  following  articles:  four  Bibles,  one  In 
English,  one  in  Dutch,  and  two  in  the  Portuguese  lan- 
guages; many  articles  of  wearing  apparel,  such  as  jack- 
ets and  trowsers,  with  the  buttons  altered  to  suit  the 
natives;  pieces  of  shirts  tagged  to  other  parts  of  dress; 
several  broken  instruments,  such  as  quadrants,  spy 
glasses  (two,)  binnacles,  with  pieces  of  ship's  sails, 
bolts  and  hoops;  a  considerable  variety  of  gunner's 
and  carpenter's  tools,  stores,  &c.  In  another  shop 
were  two  pelisses  of  faded  lilac  colours;  these  were  of 
modern  cut  and  fashionably  made.  On  enquiring 
how  they  became  possessed  of  these  articles,  I  was 


I 


IN  MALAY  WATERS  281 

told  they  were  some  wrecks  of  European  vessels  on 
which  no  people  were  found,  whilst  others  made  no 
scruples  of  averring  that  they  were  formerly  the  prop- 
erty of  people  who  had  died  in  the  country.  All  the 
goods  in  the  bazaar  belonged  to  the  rajah,  and  were 
sold  on  his  account;  large  quantities  were  said  to  be  in 
his  house  up  the  river;  but  on  all  hands  it  was  admitted 
Raga  and  his  followers  had  by  far  the  largest  part  of 
what  was  taken.  A  Mandoor,  or  head  of  one  of  the 
campongs,  showed  me  some  women's  stockings,  sev- 
eral of  which  were  marked  with  the  letters  S.  W.;  also 
two  chemises,  one  with  the  letters  S.  W.;  two  flannel 
petticoats,  a  miniature  portrait  frame  (the  picture  was 
in  the  rajah's  house,)  with  many  articles  of  dress  of 
both  sexes.  In  consequence  of  the  strict  orders  given 
on  the  subject  I  could  see  no  more;  indeed  there  were 
both  difficulty  and  danger  attending  these  inquiries. 
I  particularly  wanted  to  obtain  the  miniature  picture, 
and  offered  the  Mandoor  fifty  rupees  if  he  could  pro- 
cure it;  he  laughed  at  me,  and  pointing  significantly 
to  his  kris,  drew  one  hand  across  my  throat,  and  then 
across  his  own,  giving  me  to  understand  such  would 
be  the  result  to  us  both  on  such  an  application  to 
the  rajah.  It  is  the  universal  custom  of  the  pirates, 
on  this  coast,  to  sell  the  people  for  slaves  immediately 
on  their  arrival,  the  rajah  taking  for  himself  a  few 
of  the  most  useful,  and  receiving  a  percentage  upon 
the  purchase  money  of  the  remainder,  with  a  moiety 
of  the  vessel  and  every  article  on  board.  European 
vessels  are  taken  up  the  river,  where  they  are  imme- 
diately broken  up.  The  situation  of  European  pris- 
oners is  indeed  dreadful  in  a  climate  like  this,  where 


282  GREAT  PIRATE  STORIES 

even  the  labor  of  natives  is  intolerable;  they  are  com- 
pelled to  bear  all  the  drudgery,  and  allowed  a  bare 
sulliciency  of  rice  and  salt  to  eat. 

It  is  utterly  impossible  for  Europeans  who  have 
seen  these  pirates  at  such  places  as  Singapore  and 
Batavia,  to  form  any  conception  of  their  true  charac- 
ter. There  they  are  under  immediate  control,  and 
every  part  of  their  behaviour  is  a  tissue  of  falsehood 
and  deception.  They  constantly  carry  about  with 
them  a  smooth  tongue,  cringing  demeanor,  a  comply- 
ing disposition,  which  always  asserts,  and  never  con- 
tradicts; a  countenance  which  appears  to  anticipate  the 
very  wish  of  the  Europeans,  and  which  so  generally 
imposes  upon  his  understanding,  that  he  at  once  con- 
cludes them  to  be  the  best  and  gentlest  of  human 
beings;  but  let  the  European  meet  them  in  any  of  their 
own  campongs,  and  a  very  different  character  they 
will  appear.  The  character  and  treacherous  proceed- 
ing narrated  above,  and  the  manner  of  cutting  off 
vessels  and  butchering  their  crews,  apply  equally  to 
all  the  pirates  of  the  East  India  Islands,  by  which 
many  hundred  European  and  American  vessels  have 
been  surprised  and  their  crews  butchered. 


THE  ZEPHYR— AARON  SMITH'S 
STORY 

[From   "Daring  Deeds  of  Famous  Pirates,"  by  E. 
Keble  Chatterton] 

IF  the  expression  had  not  been  used  already  so 
many  thousand  times,  one  might  well  say  of  the 
following  story  that  truth  is  indeed  stranger  than 
fiction.  Had  you  read  the  yarn  which  is  here  to  be 
related  you  would,  at  its  conclusion,  have  remarked 
that  it  was  certainly  most  interesting  and  exciting, 
but  it  was  too  exaggerated,  too  full  of  coincidences, 
too  full  of  narrow  escapes  ever  to  have  occurred  in 
real  life.  But  I  would  assure  the  reader  at  the  outset 
that  Smith's  experiences  were  actual  and  not  fictional, 
and  that  his  story  was  carefully  examined  at  the  time 
by  the  High  Court  of  Admiralty.  The  prelude,  the 
climax  and  the  conclusion  of  this  drama  with  its  ex- 
citing incidents,  its  love  interest  and  its  happy  end- 
ing; the  romantic  atmosphere,  the  picturesque  charac- 
ters, the  colours  and  the  symmetry  of  the  narrative 
are  so  much  in  accord  with  certain  models  such  as  one 
used  to  read  in  mere  story-books  of  one's  boyhood, 
that  it  is  well  the  reader  should  be  fully  assured  that 
what  is  here  set  forth  did  in  very  truth  happen.  In 
some  respects  the  narrative  reads  like  pages  from  one 
of  Robert  Louis  Stevenson's  novels,  and  yet  though 
I  have,  by  the  limits  of  the  space  at  my  disposal,  been 

283 


284  GREAT  PIRATE  STORIES 

compelled  to  omit  many  of  the  incidents  which  centred 
around  Smith  and  liis  pirate  associates,  yet  the  facts 
whicli  are  set  forth  liave  been  taken  from  contempo- 
rary data  and  can  be  relied  upon  implicitly. 

The  story  opens  in  the  year  1821,  and  the  hero  is 
an  r'ngiish  seaman  named  Aaron  Smith.  In  the 
month  of  June,  Smith  departed  from  England  and 
embarked  on  the  merchant  ship  Harrington,  which 
carried  him  safely  over  the  Atlantic  to  the  West 
Indies.  Subsequent  events  induced  him  to  resign  his 
billet  on  that  vessel,  and  as  he  found  that  the  West 
Indian  climate  was  impairing  his  health,  he  made  ar- 
rangements to  get  back  home  to  England.  Being  then 
at  Kingston  in  the  island  of  Jamaica,  he  interviewed 
the  captain  of  the  British  merchant  ship  Zephyr  and 
was  appointed  first  mate.  The  Zephyr,  like  many  of 
the  ships  of  the  eighteenth  and  early  nineteenth  cen- 
turies, was  rigged  as  a  brig,  that  is  to  say  with  square 
sails  on  each  of  her  two  masts,  with  triangular  head- 
sails  and  a  quadrilateral  sail  abaft  the  second  mast 
much  like  the  mainsail  of  a  cutter-rigged  craft.  Brigs 
nowadays  are  practically  obsolete,  but  at  the  time 
we  are  speaking  of  they  were  immensely  popular  in 
the  merchant  service  and  for  carrying  coals  from 
Newcastle-on-Tyne  to  London. 

The  Zephyr,  after  taking  on  board  her  West  Indian 
cargo  together  with  a  few  passengers,  weighed  an- 
chor in  the  month  of  June  1822 — just  a  year  after 
Smith  had  left  Europe — and  set  sail  for  England. 
From  the  very  first  Smith  saw  that  things  were  not 
quite  as  they  should  be.  The  pilot  who  took  the  ship 
out  into  the  open  sea  was  a  very  incapable  man,  but 


THE  ZEPHYR— AARON  SMITH'S  STORY   285 

his  duties  were  soon  ended  and  he  left  the  ship.  The 
name  of  the  Zephyr's  captain  was  Lumsden,  and  even 
he  was  far  from  being  the  capable  mariner  which  one 
would  have  expected  in  a  man  whose  duty  it  was  to 
take  a  ship  across  the  broad  Atlantic.  Presently,  be- 
fore they  had  left  Kingston  far  astern,  a  strong  breeze 
sprang  up  from  the  north-east,  and  a  heavy  easterly 
swell  got  up,  which  made  the  brig  somewhat  lively. 
Most  people  are  aware  that  the  navigation  among  the 
islands  and  in  the  tricky  channels  of  the  West  Indies 
needs  both  great  care  and  much  knowledge,  such  as 
ought  to  have  been  possessed  by  a  man  in  Lumsden's 
position.  Judge  of  Smith's  surprise,  therefore,  when 
the  latter  found  his  captain  asking  his  advice  as  to 
which  passage  he  ought  to  take. 

Whatever  else  Smith  had  in  his  character,  he  was 
certainly  extremely  shrewd  and  cautious,  and  he  re- 
plied in  a  non-committal  answer  to  the  effect  that  the 
"windward"  passage  might  prolong  the  voyage  but 
that  the  "leeward"  one  would  expose  the  ship  to  the 
risk  of  being  plundered  by  the  pirates,  which  in  those 
days  were  far  from  rare.  Lumsden  weighed  the  pros 
and  cons  in  his  mind,  and  at  last  resolved  to  choose 
the  "leeward"  passage.  About  two  o'clock  one  after- 
noon Smith  was  pacing  up  and  down  deck  when  he 
suddenly  espied  a  schooner  of  a  very  suspicious  ap- 
pearance standing  out  from  the  land.  Not  quite 
happy  as  to  her  character,  he  then  went  aloft  with  his 
telescope  and  examined  her  closely.  In  the  case  of  a 
man  of  his  sea  experience  it  did  not  take  long  for 
him  to  realise  that  the  schooner  was  a  pirate-ship. 
Lumsden  was  below  at  the  time,  so  Smith  called  him 


286  GREAT  PIRATE  STORIES 

on  deck  and,  pointing  out  the  strange  vessel,  sug- 
gested to  the  captain  that  it  would  be  best  to  alter 
the  brig's  course  to  avoid  her.  But  Lumsden,  like 
most  ignorant  men,  was  exceedingly  obstinate,  and 
stoutly  declined  the  proffered  advice.  With  charac- 
teristic British  sentiment  he  opined  that  "because  he 
bore  the  I'.nglish  flag  no  one  would  dare  to  molest 
him."  The  skipper  of  the  schooner,  as  we  shall  pres- 
ently see,  did  not  think  of  the  matter  in  that  way. 

Half  an  hour  passed  by,  the  brig  held  on  her  orig- 
inal course,  and  the  two  ships  drawing  closer  together 
it  was  observed  that  the  schooner's  deck  was  full  of 
men.  Clearly,  too,  she  was  about  to  hoist  out  her 
boats.  This  gave  cause  for  alarm  even  in  the  stub- 
born breast  of  Lumsden,  and  now  he  gave  orders  for 
the  course  to  be  altered  a  couple  of  points.  But  the 
decision  had  been  arrived  at  too  leisurely,  for  the 
stranger  was  already  within  gun-shot.  Before  much 
time  had  sped  on,  the  sound  of  voices  was  heard  from 
ihe  schooner,  and  short,  sharp  orders  came  across  the 
.leaving  sea,  ordering  the  Zephyr  to  lower  her  stern 
boat  and  to  send  the  captain  aboard  the  schooner. 
Lumsden  pretended  not  to  understand,  but  a  brisk  vol- 
ley of  musketry  from  the  stranger  Instantly  quickened 
the  skipper's  comprehension,  and  he  promptly  gave 
orders  to  lay  the  mainyard  aback  and  heave-to. 

The  boat  which  had  been  lowered  from  the 
schooner  was  quickly  rowed  alongside  the  brig,  and 
nine  or  ten  men,  ferocious  of  appearance  and  well- 
armed  with  knives,  cutlasses  and  muskets,  now  leapt 
aboard.  It  was  obvious  before  they  had  left  the 
schooner's  deck  that  these  were  desperate  pirates,  such 


THE  ZEPHYR— AARON  SMITH'S  STORY   287 

as  had  many  a  dark,  cruel  deed  to  their  consciences. 
With  no  wasting  of  formality  they  at  once  took  charge 
of  the  brig  and  ordered  Lumsden,  Smith,  the  ship's 
carpenter,  and  also  a  Captain  Cowper  who  was  travel- 
ling as  a  passenger,  to  proceed  on  board  the  schooner 
without  delay.  In  order  to  hurry  them  on,  the  pirates 
gave  them  repeated  blows  over  the  back  from  the 
flat  part  of  their  cutlasses,  accompanying  these  strokes 
with  threats  of  shooting  them.  So  the  company  got 
into  the  schooner's  boat  and  were  rowed  off;  Lums- 
den recollected  having  left  on  the  cabin  table  of  the 
Zephyr  the  ship's  books  containing  an  account  of  all 
the  money  aboard  the  brig. 

Arrived  alongside  the  schooner,  the  prisoners  were 
ordered  on  deck.  It  was  the  pirate  captain  who  now 
issued  the  commands,  a  man  of  repulsive  appearance 
with  his  savage  expression,  his  short,  stout  stature. 
His  age  was  not  more  than  about  thirty-two,  his  ap- 
pearance denoted  that  in  his  veins  ran  Indian  blood. 
Standing  not  more  than  five  and  a  half  feet  high,  he 
had  an  aquiline  nose,  high  cheek  bones,  a  large  mouth, 
big  full  eyes,  sallow  complexion  and  black  hair.  The 
son  of  a  Spanish  father,  and  a  Yucatan  squaw,  there 
was  nothing  in  him  that  suggested  anything  but  the 
downright  brigand  of  the  sea. 

But  with  all  this  savage  temperament  there  was 
nothing  in  him  of  the  fool,  and  his  wits  and  eyes  were 
ever  on  the  alert.  Already  he  had  observed  a  cluster 
of  vessels  in  the  distance,  and  he  questioned  Lumsden 
as  to  what  kind  of  craft  they  might  be.  On  being  in- 
formed that  probably  they  were  French  merchantmen, 
the  pirate  captain  gave  orders  for  all  hands  to  get 


288  GREAT  PIRATE  STORIES 

the  schooner  ready  to  give  chase.  Meanwhile  the 
Zephyr,  with  part  of  the  pirate  crew  on  board,  made 
sail  and  stood  in  towards  the  land  in  the  direction  of 
Cape  Roman,  some  eighteen  miles  away.  And  as  the 
schooner  pushed  on,  cleaving  her  way  through  the 
warm  sea,  the  pirate  applied  himself  to  questioning 
the  skipper  of  the  brig.  What  was  his  cargo? 
Lumsden  answered  that  it  consisted  of  sugars,  rum, 
coffee,  arrow-root,  and  so  on.  But  what  money  had 
he  on  board?  Lumsden  replied  that  there  was  no 
money.  Such  an  answer  only  infuriated  the  pirate. 
"Don't  imagine  I'm  a  fool,  sir,"  he  roared  at  him. 
"I  know  that  all  vessels  going  to  Europe  have  specie 
on  board,  and" — he  added — "if  you  will  give  up  what 
you  have,  you  shall  proceed  on  your  voyage  without 
further  molestation."  But  Lumsden  still  continued  in 
his  protestations  that  money  there  was  none:  to  which 
the  pirate  remarked  that  if  the  money  were  not  forth- 
coming he  would  throw  the  Zephyr's  cargo  overboard. 
Night  was  rapidly  approaching,  and  the  breeze  was 
certainly  dying  down,  so  that  although  the  schooner 
had  done  fairly  well  through  the  water,  yet  the  pirate 
despaired  of  ever  coming  up  with  the  Frenchmen. 
Disappointed  at  his  lack  of  success,  he  was  compelled 
to  abandon  the  chase,  and  altered  his  course  to  stand 
in  the  direction  of  the  Zephyr.  When  night  had  fal- 
len the  pirates  began  to  prepare  supper,  and  offered 
spirits  to  their  captives,  which  the  latter  declined. 
The  pirate  captain  now  turned  his  attention  to  Smith, 
and  observed  that  as  he  was  in  bad  health,  and  none 
of  the  schooner's  crew  understood  navigation,  it  was 
his  intention  to  detain  Smith  to   navigate  her.     We 


THE  ZEPHYR— AARON  SMITH'S  STORY  289 

need  not  attempt  to  suggest  the  feelings  of  dismay 
with  which  Smith  received  this  information.  To  re- 
sist forceably  was  obviously  out  of  the  question, 
though  he  did  his  best  to  be  allowed  to  forego  the 
doubtful  honour  of  being  appointed  navigating  officer 
to  a  pirate-ship.  Lumsden,  too,  uneasy  at  the  thought 
of  being  bereft  of  a  man  indispensable  to  the  safety 
of  his  brig,  expressed  a  nervous  hope  that  Smith  might 
not  be  detained.  But  the  pirate's  reply  to  the  last 
request  came  prompt  and  plain.  "If  I  do  not  keep 
him,"  he  growled  at  Lumsden,  "I  shall  keep  you." 
That  sufficiently  alarmed  the  brig's  master  to  subdue 
him  to  silence. 

/*The  captives  sat  down  to  supper  with  their  pirate 
captain  and  the  latter's  six  officers.  The  meal  con- 
sisted of  garlic  and  onions  chopped  up  into  fine  pieces 
and  mixed  with  bread  in  a  bowl.  From  this  every  one 
helped  himself  as  he  pleased  with  his  fingers,  and  the 
coarse  manners  of  the  schooner's  company  were  in 
keeping  with  the  brutality  of  their  profession.  A 
breeze  had  sprung  up  in  the  meanwhile  and  they  began 
fast  to  approach  the  Zephyr.  When  at  length  the 
two  vessels  were  within  a  short  distan;ce,  the  pirate 
ordered  a  musket  to  be  fired  and  then  proceeded  to 
tack  shorewards.  This  signal  was  answered  imme- 
diately by  the  pirates  on  board  the  brig,  and  the 
Zephyr  then  proceeded  to  follow  the  schooner.  One 
of  the  brig's  crew  who  had  been  brought  aboard  the 
schooner  at  the  time  when  Lumsden  and  Smith  were 
taken,  was  now  ordered  to  heave  the  lead  and  to  give 
warning  as  soon  as  the  schooner  got  into  soundings. 
It  is  significant  that  whatever  else  these  pirates  may 


290  GREAT  PIRATE  STORIES 

have  been,  they  were  brigands  first  and  sailormen  only 
a  bad  second,  who  had  taken  to  roving  less  through 
nautical  enthusiasm  than  from  a  greed  for  gain  and 
a  means  of  indulging  their  savage  tastes.  Thus,  al- 
though on  waylaying  a  merchant  ship  their  first  (object 
was  to  pillage,  yet  they  made  it  also  their  aim  to  carry 
off  any  useful  members  of  the  trader's  crew  who  were 
expert  in  the  arts  of  seamanship  or  navigation. 

As  soon  as  the  leadsman,  then,  found  bottom  at 
fourteen  fathoms,  the  pirate  commanded  a  boat  to 
be  lowered  and  therein  was  placed  Lumsden  and  some 
of  the  crew  which  had  belonged  to  the  Zephyr. 
Smith,  however,  and  with  him  the  brig's  carpenter, 
were  detained  on  the  schooner.  The  pirate  captain 
himself  accompanied  Lumsden,  left  the  latter  on  board 
the  brig  and  brought  back  the  crew  of  the  pirate,  who 
in  the  first  instance  had  been  left  to  take  charge  of 
the  Zephyr.  They  also  brought  away  to  the  schooner 
a  number  of  articles,  including  Cowper's  watch,  the 
brig's  spy-glass.  Smith's  own  telescope,  some  clothes 
belonging  to  the  latter,  and  a  goat.  To  show  what 
kind  of  cruel  rascals  Smith  had  now  become  shipmate 
with  may  be  seen  from  the  fact  that  as  soon  as  the 
animal  had  been  brought  aboard,  one  of  the  pirate's 
crew  instantly  cut  the  goat's  throat  with  his  knife, 
flayed  the  poor  creature  alive,  and  promised  the  same 
kind  of  treatment  to  his  friends  if  no  money  were 
found  In  the  Zephyr.  Even  the  most  stalwart  British 
sailor  could  not  help  his  heart  beating  the  more 
rapidly  at  such  cowardly  and  bullying  treatment. 

By  now  the  schooner  had  stood  so  near  to  the  shore 
that  she  was  in  four  fathoms  and  the  anchor  was  let 


I 


THE  ZEPHYR— AARON  SMITH'S  STORY  291 

go.  The  Zephyr  also  let  go  and  brought  up  about 
fifty  yards  away.  Relieved  from  work,  the  pirates 
now  began  to  exult  and  to  congratulate  each  other  on 
their  fine  capture.  Night  came  on  again  and  a  watch 
was  set.  Smith  and  Cowper,  still  in  the  schooner, 
were  ordered  to  sleep  in  the  companionway,  but  with 
the  fearful  anxiety  imminent  and  the  possibility  of 
never  being  allowed  to  wake  again,  they  never  re- 
lapsed into  unconsciousness.  Conversation  was  kept 
up  stealthily  between  them,  and  Cowper,  knowing  that 
the  Zephyr  carried  a  quantity  of  specie  and  that  Lums- 
den  had  hoodwinked  the  pirate  captain,  dreaded  lest 
this  should  be  found  out.  With  the  certain  assurance 
in  his  mind  of  being  put  to  death,  a  horrible  night  of 
suspense  and  fear  was  passed  by  the  two  seamen. 

When  daylight  came,  some  of  the  pirates  were  seen 
on  the  brig's  deck  beating  the  Zephyr's  crew  with  their 
cutlasses.  Great  activity  of  a  most  business-like  na- 
ture was  being  manifested  on  the  English  ship,  boats 
were  being  hoisted  out,  a  rope  cable — those  were  still 
the  days  of  hemp — was  being  coiled  on  deck,  the 
hatches  were  being  removed  and  all  was  being  made 
ready  for  taking  out  the  Zephyr's  cargo.  The  pirate 
commanded  Smith  to  go  aboard  the  brig  and  fetch 
everything  that  might  be  essential  for  the  purposes  of 
navigation,  for  the  former  was  most  determined  to 
retain  the  former  mate  of  the  English  merchantman. 
To  accentuate  his  determination  the  half-caste  brute 
raised  his  arm  into  the  air  and,  brandishing  a  cutlass 
over  poor  Smith's  head,  threatened  him  with  Instant 
death  if  he  showed  any  reluctance.  "Mind  and  you 
obey  me,"  he  taunted,  "or  I  will  take  off  your  skin." 


292  GREAT  PIRATE  STORIES 

We  need  not  stop  to  depict  Smith's  feelings,  nor  to 
suggest  with  what  dismay  he  found  himself  compelled 
to  obey  the  behests  of  a  coarse,  ignorant  freebooter. 
It  was  humiliating  to  the  last  degree  for  a  man  who 
had  been  mate  and  served  under  the  red  ensign  thu^ 
to  have  to  submit  to  such  abominable  treatment.  But 
there  was  no  choice  between  submission  and  death, 
though  from  what  eventually  followed  it  was  obvious 
that  Smith  was  not  a  coward  and  was  not  so  proud 
of  his  skin  as  to  fear  death.  He  proceeded  aboard 
the  brig,  discovered  that  she  had  been  well  ransacked 
and  with  a  heavy  heart  began  to  collect  his  belong- 
ings. He  brought  off  his  gold  watch  and  sextant, 
packed  his  clothes  and  then  returned  to  the  schooner. 
But  before  doing  so  he  acted  as  a  man  about  to  pass 
out  of  the  world  and  anxious  to  dispose  of  his  remain- 
ing effects.  With  almost  humorous  pathos,  one  might 
remark,  he  set  about  this  last  duty.  "My  books,  par- 
rot and  various  other  articles  I  gave  in  charge  to 
Mr.  Lumsden,  who  engaged  to  deliver  them  safely 
into  the  hands  of  my  friends,  should  he  reach  Eng- 
land;" and  it  needs  no  very  gifted  imagination  to  see 
the  sentimental  sailor  of  the  great  sailing-ship  age 
painfully  taking  a  last  look  at  these  cherished 
possessions. 

The  cargo  having  been  transferred  to  the  schooner, 
the  pirates  indulged  themselves  in  liquor  and  became 
intoxicated.  But  meanwhile  the  crew  of  the  brig  were 
not  allowed  to  stand  idle.  The  pirate  captain  was 
going  to  get  all  that  he  could  from  his  capture,  and 
ordered  the  Zephyr's  fore  t'gallant  mast  and  yard  to 
be  sent  down,  and  these,  together  with  whatever  other 


THE  ZEPHYR— AARON  SMITH'S  STORY   293 

spars  might  seem  useful,  were  to  be  sent  on  board  the 
schooner.  The  merchant  ship  was  positively  gutted 
of  everything  the  pirates  fancied.  There  was  not  left 
even  so  much  as  a  bed  or  a  blanket:  even  the  ear-rings 
on  the  ears  of  the  children  passengers  were  snatched 
from  the  latter.  In  addition  to  this  the  whole  of  the 
live  stock  such  as  an  ocean-going  ship  carried  in  those 
days  prior  to  the  invention  of  the  refrigerating  rooms 
and  tinned  food  was  transferred  to  the  schooner  and 
a  certain  amount  of  drinking  water. 

But  the  pirates  had  not  yet  concluded  their  das- 
tardly work.  Lumsden  and  Cowper  were  warned 
that  unless  they  produced  the  money,  which  the  pirate 
was  convinced  still  remained,  the  Zephyr,  with  all  her 
people  in  her,  should  be  burnt  to  the  water's  edge. 
It  is  to  the  credit  of  these  two  men  that  they  strenu- 
ously declined  to  oblige  the  pirate.  This  only  served 
as  fuel  to  the  latter's  temper,  and  he  sent  them  below 
and  began  a  series  of  heartless  tortures  which  were 
more  in  keeping  with  some  of  the  worst  features  of 
the  Middle  Ages  than  the  nineteenth  century.  De- 
termined to  attain  his  object,  no  matter  what  the  cost, 
he  caused  the  two  men  to  be  locked  to  the  ship's  pumps 
and  proceeded  to  carry  out  the  threat  which  he  had 
just  promised.  Every  preparation  was  made  for 
starting  a  fire,  combustibles  were  piled  round  about 
the  unfortunate  men,  and  the  light  was  just  about  to 
be  applied  when  Lumsden,  unable  to  endure  the  tor- 
ture any  longer,  confessed  that  there  was  money.  He 
was  accordingly  released,  and  rummaging  about  pro- 
duced a  small  box  of  doubloons. 

This,    however,    far    from    satisfying    the    pirate's 


294  GREAT  PIRATE  STORIES 

thirst,  merely  increased  his  desire  for  more.  Lums- 
den  protested  that  that  was  all.  So  again  the  skipper 
was  lashed  to  the  pumps,  again  fire  was  ordered  to 
he  put  to  the  fuel,  and  again  the  victim  was  about  to 
he  iiniiiohited.  Once  more,  at  the  last  minute,  Lums- 
den  yielded  and  offered  to  surrender  all  that  he  had. 
Thereupon,  for  the  second  time  he  was  released,  and 
producing  nine  more  doubloons  declared  that  this 
money  had  been  entrusted  to  his  care  on  behalf  of 
a  poor  woman.  Such  human  sentiments,  however, 
rarely  fell  on  more  unsympathetic  ears.  "Don't 
speak  to  me  of  poor  people,"  howled  the  pirate.  "I 
am  poor,  and  your  countrymen  and  the  Americans 
have  made  me  so.  I  know  there  is  more  money,  and 
1  will  either  have  it  or  burn  you  and  the  vessel." 

Following  up  his  threat  with  deeds,  he  once  more 
ordered  Lumsden  below,  yet  again  had  the  combusti- 
bles laid  around.  But  the  Englishman  stood  his  tor- 
ture well:  his  being  was  becoming  accustomed  to  the 
treatment  and  for  a  while  he  never  flinched.  Then 
the  monsters  of  iniquity  applied  a  light  to  the  fire,  and 
the  red  and  yellow  flames  leapt  forward  and  already 
began  to  lick  the  skipper's  body.  For  a  time  he  en- 
dured the  grievous  pain  as  the  fire  burnt  into  his  flesh. 
With  agonising  cries  and  heart-rending  shouts  he 
begged  to  be  relieved  of  his  tortures — to  be  cut  adrift 
in  a  boat  and  left  solitary  on  the  wide  open  ocean — 
anything  rather  than  this.  Money  he  had  not: 
already  he  had  given  up  all  that  he  possessed.  And 
after  this  slow  murder  had  continued  for  some  time 
the  stubborn  dulled  intellect  of  the  pirate  captain  be- 
gan to  work,  and  seeing  that  not  even  fire  could  call 


THE  ZEPHYR— AARON  SMITH'S  STORY   295 

forth  more  money  from  a  suffering  man,  he  was  In- 
clined to  believe  that  the  last  coin  had  now  been 
yielded  up.  Then  turning  to  some  of  his  own  crew, 
he  ordered  them  to  throw  water  on  to  the  flames,  and 
the  long-suffering  Lumsden,  more  dead  than  alive, 
racked  by  physical  and  mental  tortures,  was  released 
and  allowed  to  regain  his  freedom.  As  If  to  accentu- 
ate their  own  bestial  natures  the  pirates  then  pro- 
ceeded to  carouse  once  more  and  to  exult  again  In 
their  Ill-gotten  treasures. 

But  even  in  the  most  villainous  criminal  there  Is 
always  at  least  one  small  trait  of  human  nature  left, 
and  it  is  often  surprising  how  this  manifests  Itself 
when  circumstances  had  seemed  to  deny  its  very  exist- 
ence. It  was  so  in  the  case  of  this  pirate  captain. 
Everything  so  far  had  Indicated  the  most  unmitigated 
bully  and  murderer  without  one  single  redeeming  feat- 
ure of  any  sort  whatever.  And  yet.  In  spite  of  all  the 
vain  entreaties  of  Lumsden  for  mercy,  the  pirate 
showed  that  the  last  spark  of  human  kindness  was  not 
yet  quenched.  The  reader  will  remember  that  among 
the  articles  which  Smith  had  brought  away  from  the 
brig  was  his  gold  watch.  The  pirate  took  this  In  his 
hands,  examined  It,  and  Instead  of  promptly  annexing 
the  same,  threw  out  a  strong  hint  that  he  would  like 
to  retain  It.  Such  moderation  from  one  who  had  not 
hesitated  to  burn  a  man  at  the  stake  was  In  Itself  curi- 
ous. But  his  Inconsistency  did  not  stop  at  that. 
Smith  remarked  that  the  watch  was  a  gift  from  his 
aged  mother,  whom  he  now  never  expected  to  see 
again,  adding  that  he  would  like  to  be  allowed  to  send 
it  to  her  by  Lumsden,  but  was  afraid  that  the  pirates 


296  (jREA'r  PIRATE  STORIES 

would  take  It  away  from  the  h^nglish  captain  if  it  were 
entrusted  to  him.  it  was  then  that  the  pirate  mani- 
fested the  extraordinary  contradiction  which  his  char- 
acter possessed.  "Y'our  people,"  he  began,  "have  a 
very  bad  opinion  of  us,  but  I  will  convince  you  that 
we  are  not  so  bad  as  we  are  represented  to  be;  come 
along  with  me,  and  your  watch  shall  go  safely  home." 
And  with  this  he  took  Smith  on  board  the  Zephyr 
once  more,  handed  the  watch  into  Lumsden's  keeping 
and  gave  strict  orders  that  on  no  account  was  any  one 
to  take  it  away  from  the  English  captain. 

Smith  now  took  a  final  farewell  of  his  old  mess- 
mates, but  lest  he  should  take  advantage  of  the  indul- 
gence which  had  been  just  granted  him,  the  pirate 
captain  instantly  ordered  him  back  to  the  schooner, 
and  even  impelled  him  forward  at  the  point  of  his 
murderous  knife.  All  this  time  the  two  ships  had 
been  lying  alongside  lashed  together  by  warps.  Being 
at  last  content  with  the  ample  cargo  which  he  had 
extracted  from  the  Zephyr,  and  being  convinced  that 
there  was  nothing  else  aboard  of  much  value,  the 
pirate  now  ordered  the  warps  to  be  cast  loose  and 
informed  Lumsden  that  he  might  consider  himself 
free  to  resume  his  voyage.  But,  he  insisted,  on  no 
account  was  he  to  steer  for  Havannah.  Should  he 
do  so,  the  schooner  would  pursue  him,  and  on  being 
overtaken  Lumsden  and  his  ship  should  be  destroyed 
without  further  consideration. 

So  at  last  the  brig  Zephyr,  robbed  of  most  of  her 
valuables,  lacking  some  of  her  gear  and  minus  her 
mate,  and  with  a  tortured  skipper,  hove  up  her  an- 
chor, let  loose  her  canvas  and  cleared  out  into  the 
open  sea. 


THE  LAST  OF  THE  PIRATES 

[From  "The  Wild  Coast  of  Nippon,"  by  Capt.  H. 
C.  St.  John,  R.  N.] 

IN  1875  an  English  brigantine  bound  for  the  north- 
ward had  been  attacked  about  100  miles  from 
Hong-Kong;  the  captain  and  a  boy  were  killed, 
but  the  rest  of  the  crew,  having  taken  to  the  top,  and 
remained  there  while  the  pirates  ransacked  the  vessel, 
were  otherwise  unmolested.  As  soon  as  the  coast  was 
clear,  they  descended  from  their  airy  refuge,  and  in 
a  day  or  two  brought  the  vessel  safely  back  to  port. 
Whilst  we  were  coaling  to  go  in  search  of  these  ras- 
cals, another  case  occurred,  information  being  brought 
that  a  large  fishing-junk  belonging  to  Hong-Kong, 
with  the  owner  and  his  family  on  board,  had  been 
boarded  by  pirates  when  fishing  just  outside  the  island, 
and  his  three  daughters  carried  off  for  ransom.  The 
owner  himself  had  been  launched  adrift  in  a  sampan, 
and  directed  by  his  considerate  countrymen  to  collect 
500  dollars  as  the  price  of  his  daughters'  release;  if 
not  paid  in  a  short  time,  the  girls  would  be,  never 
more,  of  any  trouble  to  him  or  any  one  else.  The 
senior  officer  had  arrived  while  I  was  still  in  port,  and 
being  entirely  ignorant  of  all  matters  concerned  with 
piracy,  he  very  much  doubted  my  being  able  to  do  any 
good  in  searching  for  the  culprits  in  either  of  the  two 
cases,  and  especially  in  the  release  of  the  damsels.     In 

297 


298  GREAT  PIRATE  STORIES 

answer  to  his  doubts,  I  said,  in  tlic  latter  case  I  should 
probably  succeed,  but  not  in  the  first,  the  time  elapsed 
being  too  long.  Towards  dusk  I  left,  so  as  to  reach 
a  cluster  of  islands  called  Tooni-ang,  thirty  miles  east 
of  I  long-Kong,  and  a  very  favourite  rendezvous  for 
pirates,  towards  daylight.  In  the  channel  between 
the  islands  were  coves  and  nooks  where  junks  could 
stow  away  very  snugly,  and  the  approach  being  open 
at  cither  end,  they  could  easily  slip  away  on  danger 
appcarmg  from  any  direction.  I  reached  the  spot 
before  the  sun  had  thought  of  throwing  light  over  the 
high  peak  of  the  largest  island.  Gradually,  how- 
ever, the  morning  grey  cool  feel  of  the  approaching 
day  stole  over  the  scene,  and  as  it  did  I  kept  quietly 
creeping  in,  until  I  reached  the  very  centre  of  the 
passage. 

Presently,  close  under  the  rocks,  a  junk  was  seen, 
moving  cautiously  in  the  shadow  of  the  cliffs  towards 
the  further  entrance.  Early  as  I  was,  they  were 
equally  on  the  qui  vive,  and  the  whole  crew  managed 
to  escape  to  the  shore  before  I  caught  the  junk.  This 
proved  to  be  the  very  pirate  craft  which  had  captured 
the  girls;  so  far  so  good,  I  thought.  Now,  to  trace 
these  unhappy  fair  ones.  A  deep  bay  lay  immediately 
abreast  of  Tooni-ang,  at  the  head  of  which,  and  faced 
by  shoal  water  and  a  long  flat  island,  a  town  with 
about  a  thousand  inhabitants  lay  almost  entirely  con- 
cealed by  a  prominent  woody  point,  and  the  island 
mentioned.  I  knew  this  to  be  a  den  of  thieves,  and 
from  what  the  father  of  the  girls  had  gathered,  and 
otherwise  conjectured  during  his  interview  with  the 
pirates,  it  appeared  more  than  probable  that  to  this 


THE  LAST  OF  THE  PIRATES  299 

place  the  prisoners  had  been  taken.  When  passing  a 
cove,  a  junk  hove  in  sight,  inshore,  and  on  my  bear- 
ing down  for  her,  was  run  on  shore,  and  a  dozen  men 
or  so  skedaddled  and  made  off  into  the  bushes  as  hard 
as  they  could.  This  was  my  friend  the  fisherman's 
own  craft;  he  nearly  stood  on  his  head  with  joy.  I 
don't  believe  he  thought  half  as  much  of  his  girls  as 
his  junk.  The  one  cost  money,  the  other  made  it, 
I  suppose  he  might  have  said.  She  was  easily  rescued 
from  her  sandy  bed  and  taken  in  tow.  The  guns  (all 
fishing-junks  used  to  be  well  armed)  had  been  taken 
out  of  her,  but  with  a  little  searching  they  were  found 
buried  in  the  sand  close  to.  Without  further  inci- 
dents I  reached  the  head  of  the  bay,  anchored  off  the 
village,  and  at  once  demanded  the  three  girls.  This 
request,  however,  was  met  with  blank  looks  of  aston- 
ishment, and  professions  of  utter  ignorance  regarding 
them.  "The  three  headmen  of  the  village  must  then 
return  with  me  to  the  gun-boat,"  I  said.  These 
worthies  made  all  the  delay,  excuses,  and  difficulties 
they  could,  but  ultimately  appeared  robed  in  silk,  ac- 
companied by  a  couple  of  blue-jackets,  who  escorted 
them  to  the  boat,  and  then  on  board.  This  sort  of 
proceeding  was  more  native  police  work  than  an  Eng- 
lish man-of-war's;  but  if  such  ideas  had  been  stuck  to, 
and  I  had  simply  confined  myself  to  the  open  sea,  and 
to  my  bare  orders,  which  were  to  that  effect,  the  gun- 
boat might  just  as  well  have  been  returned  into  store, 
for  all  the  good  towards  the  suppression  of  piracy 
that  she  could  have  done;  and  many  scores  more  lives 
would  have  been  lost,  and  vessels  taken,  than  was  ac- 
tually the  case. 


300  GREAT  PIRATE  STORIES 

I  now  made  great  preparations  to  hang  these  three 
silk-robed  gentlemen,  passing  a  rope  from  each  mast- 
head, arranging  the  most  elaborate  knots,  and  so  on, 
taking  care  that  they  should  see  and  understand  what 
was  going  on.  Their  expressions  were  curious  to 
watch;  one,  in  particular,  tried  to  treat  it  as  a  good 
joke,  but  with  the  most  evident  inward  uncertainty. 
The  other  two  appeared  stolid,  but  very  grave.  All 
now  being  ready,  one  was  taken  to  each  mast,  and  the 
rope  passed  carefully  over  their  heads.  The  effect 
of  the  ominous-looking  noose  touching  their  skin  was 
as  if  their  faculties  had  received  an  electric  shock. 
They  suddenly  remembered  "the  girls  were  there;  I 
should  have  them  at  once  if  only  I  would  spare  their 
lives."  The  gentleman  that  laughed  at  the  prepara- 
tions was  so  overcome  by  the  excess  of  his  feelings 
that  he  fainted,  but  came  to  in  a  few  moments  on  a 
little  salt  water  being  judiciously  applied.  Directions 
were  sent  to  their  subordinates  in  the  village,  and  in 
a  very  short  time  the  girls  appeared  on  the  beach,  es- 
corted by  a  crowd  of  men  and  women:  the  three  ras- 
cals were  quickly  exchanged  for  the  kidnapped  fair 
ones,  who  were  fed  with  tea  and  jam,  and  wrapped  up 
in  a  sail  for  the  night,  and  I  started  on  my  return  to 
Hong-Kong.  It  would  have  been  a  good  lesson,  and 
certainly  not  an  undeserved  one,  if  these  celestials  had 
been  hanged  instead  of  only  frightened.  There  was 
no  doubt,  however,  that  they  firmly  believed  their  last 
hour  had  come,  otherwise  they  would  never  had  dis- 
closed their  guilt. 

For  a  couple  of  months  I  was  employed  entirely  on 
the  coast  east  of  Hong-Kong,  during  which  time  we 


THE  LAST  OF  THE  PIRATES  301 

took  a  number  of  junks,  some  prisoners,  and  released 
others  kept  to  ransom.  The  coast  between  Macao 
and  Hainan  I  purposely  left  alone. 

The  China  New  Year  was  approaching  (February), 
a  great  time  with  all  Chinamen — a  general  holiday — 
a  feast  time — a  time  that  business  is  thrown  aside,  and 
revelry  and  dissipation  are  alone  thought  of.  Even 
the  pirates  cannot  resist  the  temptation  of  general  lax- 
ity, and  as  a  rule  return  to  some  rendezvous  or  strong- 
hold for  at  least  three  days.  Another  custom,  and  a 
very  good  one,  connected  with  their  New  Year  is, 
that  every  Chinaman  pays  his  debts;  it  is  a  point  of 
honour  with  them  to  do  so;  an  item  in  the  general 
routine  of  a  Chinaman's  life  we  might  well  imitate. 
Relying  on  this  general  slackness,  I  had  decided  to 
cruise  down  the  west  coast  during  their  holiday-time, 
hoping  to  make  a  good  bag.  The  day  before  the  com- 
mencement of  their  New  Year,  1876,  I  visited  some 
Chinese  merchants,  and  talked  over  the  state  of  trade, 
piracy,  etc.,  but  none  had  any  news  such  as  I  wanted. 
As  I  was  in  the  act  of  getting  under  weigh,  one  of 
these  same  men  came  quietly  on  board,  and  in  a  mys- 
terious manner  whispered — "Better  look  see  Puck- 
shui." 

"The  very  place  I  am  going  to,"  I  answered. 

An  hour  before,  when  surrounded  by  his  fellow- 
merchants,  he  knew  nothing;  evidently  there  was  no 
safety  in  numbers  to  his  mind. 

Next  morning  at  daybreak  I  was  on  my  ground. 
Two  islands  with  a  shallow  passage  between  them, 
and  an  entrance  at  either  end,  situated  about  midway 
between  the  mainland  and  the  outer  line  of  islands. 


302  GREAT  PIRATE  STORIES 

formed  a  remarkably  good  and  safe  retreat  for  law- 
less characters.  As  I  rounded  the  point,  and  opened 
the  channel  and  anchorage,  no  less  than  fifteen  junks 
appeared,  drawn  up  in  line  so  as  to  cover  the  centre 
of  tlic  channel  with  their  guns.  Knowing  the  place 
well,  I  went  full  speed  through  the  soft  mud  on  the 
north  side,  and  by  doing  so  kept  all  the  junks  end  on 
instead  of  broadside,  as  they  would  have  been  if  I  had 
taken  the  mid-channel  course  they  expected.  With 
our  guns  out,  and  loaded,  the  little  gun-boat  rushed 
into  the  middle  of  them.  This  was  too  much  for  their 
nerves,  however  well  they  may  have  been  strung  up 
before;  they  entirely  gave  way  at  such  close  quarters, 
and  without  a  shot  being  fired  on  either  side,  over- 
board they  went,  and  made  a  hasty  and  undignified 
retreat  on  shore.  I  now  anchored.  They  then 
manned  the  guns  in  their  battery,  situated  immedi- 
ately abreast  of  the  gun-boat,  and  in  front  of  the  town. 
Before,  however,  they  fired,  I  sent  a  big  shot  in  their 
direction,  which  cleared  them  out. 

As  we  had  steamed  in,  we  passed  a  large  salt  junk, 
whose  crew  appeared  dancing  about  the  deck  like 
lunatics.  They  were  certainly  in  the  wildest  state  of 
joy  at  being  released  from  captivity.  They  mustered 
twenty-seven  in  all,  and  were  soon  well  on  their  way 
to  Hong-Kong.  Little  had  they  expected,  an  hour 
before,  to  get  off  without  paying  the  heavy  ransom 
demanded. 

I  decided  to  take  the  battery  and  utterly  destroy 
the  place.  Taking  all  my  crew  except  three,  not  of 
course  counting  the  Chinese  part  of  it,  I  landed  at  a 
point    a    little    way    down,    to    avoid    some    swampy 


THE  LAST  OF  THE  PIRATES         303 

ground  abreast  their  guns.  We  could  also  land  here 
under  good  shelter,  and  afterwards  approach  within 
200  yards  without  being  seen;  this  we  did,  and  then 
had  a  good  look  at  the  formidable  array  of  men  drawn 
up  in  front  of  the  village.  There  could  not  have 
been  less  than  300,  but  there  might  have  been  500. 
Two  or  three,  who  walked  up  and  down  in  front  of 
the  rest,  kept  opera-glasses  steadily  at  work,  and 
watched  us  narrowly.  Not  a  woman  was  to  be  seen, 
which  looked  as  If  they  meant  business,  I  knew  our 
eight-inch  gun  was  keenly  alive  to  our  movements,  and 
ready  to  send  forth  a  very  effectual  messenger  if 
needed.  Forming  in  single  file,  we  opened  into  view 
over  a  small  hillock,  and  went  at  them  at  a  steady 
trot.  A  minute  they  stood  as  if  irresolute,  then 
wavered,  turned  round  and  ran,  as  if  a  whole  regi- 
ment with  fixed  bayonets  were  at  their  heels;  instead 
of  only  twenty  blue-jackets  and  marines,  which  consti- 
tuted the  whole  of  my  force.  The  only  creature  we 
caught  was  a  stray  young  female,  and  how  she  got 
adrift  from  the  rest  of  her  sex,  who  were  evidently 
stowed  away  in  the  hills,  I  cannot  tell.  The  battery 
we  simply  walked  into  from  behind,  and  the  whole 
affair  was  at  an  end,  except  the  destruction  of  the  vil- 
lage, which  was  soon  accomplished  by  burning  it  to 
the  ground.  During  the  time  that  the  preceding 
events  were  taking  place,  a  couple  of  junks  had  been 
blown  up,  and  with  them  three  of  my  men,  fortunately 
they  had  come  down  again,  damaged  considerably,  but 
not  altogether  expended.  The  gunner  was  one;  he 
was  three  months  in  the  hospital,  and  then  returned  to 
duty,  but  wonderfully  changed  for  the  better  in  ap- 


304  GRIlAT  pirate  STORIES 

pearance.  A  marine  was  a  year  ill;  the  other  case 
was  not  so  serious. 

There  was,  of  course,  no  possibility  of  bringing  the 
pirates  to  bay,  and  nothing  was  left  to  be  done  but  to 
return  on  board.  I  was  just  about  ordering  the  men 
to  fall  in,  when,  on  looking  down  the  creek,  to  my  no 
little  astonishment,  a  whole  fleet  of  junks  appeared 
steering  in.  The  Chinese  interpreter  immediately 
pronounced  them  to  be  pirates.  Pleasant,  I  thought; 
why,  they  will  take  the  gun-boat  long  before  we  can 
get  on  board.  My  telescope,  however,  revealed  that 
they  were  all  the  same  class  of  craft,  a  thing  never  the 
case  in  a  fleet  of  piratical  junks;  Mandarins  I  felt 
sure,  from  their  uniformity  and  number  of  flags  flying. 
However,  to  make  things  certain,  I  got  quickly  down 
to  the  boats,  and  pulled  out  for  the  headmost  craft, 
hailing  her  as  I  came  near  as  to  her  friendliness  or 
otherwise.  This  proved  the  commander-in-chief's 
junk,  whom  I  requested  to  come  on  board  the  gun- 
boat, and  returned  myself  to  receive  him.  I  shall 
never  forget  the  man's  face  as  he  reached  the  deck. 

"I  am  so  glad  to  see  you,"  he  said;  "twice  have  I 
been  here,  and  each  time  have  been  beaten  off;  the 
pirates  were  far  too  strong  for  me.  I  should  never 
have  come  in  now  if  I  had  not  seen  a  gun-boat  in  the 
place." 

"What  force  have  you?"  I  asked. 

"I  have  forty-four  junks,  each  with  eight  or  ten 
guns  on  board,  and  1600  troops,  besides  the  junks' 
crews,"  he  replied. 

All  I  thought  I  did  not  utter;  but  telling  him  to  take 
charge  of  the  junks,  the  forty-seven  guns,  and  the  re- 


THE  LAST  OF  THE  PIRATES         305 

mains  of  the  town,  as  I  must  be  off,  and  also  to  make 
what  report  he  liked,  I  bade  him  good-bye,  and  made 
for  Macao  as  fast  as  I  could.  From  there  I  sent  my 
injured  men  across  to  Hong-Kong,  and  started  im- 
mediately again  for  the  westward.  As  I  left  the  gal- 
lant Mandarin  and  his  war-junks,  and  before  I  got 
clear  of  the  passage  between  the  islands,  he  had 
opened  fire,  but  at  what  I  could  not  see.  I  heard 
some  time  afterwards  that  the  pirates  returned 
directly  the  gun-boat  was  out  of  sight,  and  drove  the 
warriors  from  their  island,  who  then  retreated  as  fast 
as  a  fair  wind  would  take  them.^ 

Leaving  Macao,  and  steaming  about  thirty  miles 
to  the  west  of  Puckshui,  I  turned  sharply  to  the  right, 
and  towards  the  mainland,  which  was  separated  from 
the  chain  of  islands  by  ten  or  twelve  miles  of  shallow 
water,  with  only  here  and  there  a  passage  across  it. 
The  water  being  invariably  muddy,  it  was  very  difficult 
to  follow  these  narrow,  deep  lines  of  soundings,  and 
such  I  found  it  this  time;  for  after  getting  something 
like  half-way  across  towards  the  coast-line,  the  gun- 
boat grounded,  and  all  the  pulling  we  could  accumu- 
late on  the  anchor  laid  out  for  the  purpose  had  no 
effect;  fortunately  it  was  very  nearly  low-water,  and 

^  I  was  much  amused  when  I  returned  to  England,  at  a  penny 
illustrated  newspaper  which  had  been  sent  to  my  address,  soon  after 
this  piratical  affair  had  taken  place.  Amidst  any  amount  of  smoke 
and  fire,  men  mounted  on  ardent  steeds  are  represented  galloping 
about  in  all  directions,  armed  with  long  spears,  shields,  and  battle- 
axes, — these  are  the  pirates.  Other  men,  with  helmets  on,  and 
clothed  in  complete  armour,  are  closely  engagd  with  these  mounted 
warriors;  some  are  in  the  act  of  springing  on  shore  from  numerous 
boats,  which  are  just  discernible  amidst  the  fire,  smoke,  and  con- 
fusion,— these  represent  the  gallant  British  tars,  the  Opposum's  crew. 
It  must  have  been  a  fertile  imagination  that  got  all  this  together,  to 
show  what  piracy  in  China  was  like ! 


306  GREAT  PIRATE  STORIES 

tlic  tide  would  soon  make.  The  aspect  of  the  heavens 
suddenly  clianged  from  hright  sunshine  to  a  mass  of 
heavy  and  gloomy-looking  clouds,  the  wind  rose 
(juickly,  and  a  shower  and  squall  approached  from  the 
eastward,  and  (juite  shut  out  the  land.  The  muddy 
water  was  soon  lashed  into  excitement  with  the  in- 
creasing wind,  and  looking  all  round  the  general  im- 
pression was  gloom  and  unpleasantness. 

At  this  moment  a  junk  emerged  from  the  heavy 
rain,  and  came  booming  on  with  her  great  sails  full 
before  the  breeze.  That  it  must  be  the  craft  that  we 
were  after  I  felt  almost  certain,  and  to  stop  him  I  was 
determined.  Pitching  a  big  shot  across  his  bows  for 
the  purpose  had  no  effect.  Another,  still  nearer,  was 
equally  unnoticed.  In  another  minute  the  big  gun 
would  not  bear;  the  junk  would  have  passed,  might 
rake  the  gun-boat  as  she  lay  helplessly  in  the  mud,  and 
go  flying  away  before  the  half  gale  with  perfect 
Impunity. 

"Fire  into  her"  was  the  order.  But,  fortunately 
for  the  junk,  before  the  trigger  was  pulled,  down  came 
his  great  sail,  and  in  less  than  five  minutes  she  had 
rounded  to  and  anchored  close  to  us.  Almost  at  the 
same  moment  the  rising  tide  floated  the  gun-boat,  and, 
dropping  into  the  deeper  water,  I  went  immediately 
on  board  the  junk,  where  I  found  no  less  than  forty- 
three  men.  In  small  parties  they  were  sent  to  the 
gun-boat,  and  secured  for  the  night.  Next  day  we 
arrived  at  the  nearest  Mandarin  station,  and  were 
by  no  means  sorry  to  hand  junk  and  crew  over  to  his 
tender  mercies.  This  was  the  very  craft  I  was  in 
search  of,  and,  being  captured  on  the  eve  of  depar- 


THE  LAST  OF  THE  PIRATES  307 

ture,  prevented  mischief  being  done  during  her  in- 
tended cruise.  She  was  armed  and  strong  enough  to 
take  any  merchant  ship  that  might  be  met  with  during 
calm  weather.  The  gun-boat  looked  quite  a  diminu- 
tive affair  when  alongside  of  her,  and  she  had  eight 
big  guns  on  board,  besides  all  kinds  and  descriptions 
of  small  arms.  After  this  I  was  not  sorry  to  return 
to  Hong-Kong  for  a  few  days'  rest. 

This  western  part  of  the  Quang-tung  province,  the 
coast  of  which  I  have  so  often  referred  to,  is  to  this 
day  a  terra  incognita  to  Europeans. 

The  part  I  chiefly  had  occasion  to  visit  appeared  in- 
habited by  two  tribes,  the  Hacka's  and  Punti's,  who 
by  no  means  lived  at  peace  with  one  another, — quite 
the  contrary.  They  were  always  fighting  or  cutting 
each  other's  throats  on  a  small  scale,  as  well  as  by 
more  wholesale  operations.  I  had  on  one  occasion  to 
follow  a  lorcha  and  a  couple  of  junks  up  a  sluggish 
river  which  ran  through  this  country,  and  the  amount 
of  fighting  we  passed  through  was  absurd.  Neither 
party  molested  us  in  any  way,  although,  if  so  disposed, 
they  might  have  made  it  very  disagreeable,  the  width 
of  the  river  being  only  at  most  sixty  yards,  and  the 
banks  here  and  there  well  bushed  over.  Dead  bodies 
in  scores  floated  down,  or  were  grounded  on  the 
banks.  The  hills  on  either  side  of  the  river  were 
quite  decorated  with  the  flags  of  the  contending  par- 
ties; but  it  must  be  understood  that  these  emblems  of 
warfare  in  a  Chinese  army,  or  in  a  tribal  squabble,  in- 
variably are  almost  as  plentiful  as  the  men  themselves. 
The  three  pirate  crafts  were  captured  and  destroyed. 
It  was  not  always  plain  sailing  amongst  these  is- 


M)H  GREAT  PIRATE  STORIES 

lands,  which  Studded  the  coast  for  at  least  lOO  miles 
west  of  the  Canton  river;  for  notwithstanding  the 
numerous  good  anchorages  that  existed,  it  was  tick- 
lish work  occasionally  during  the  typhoon  months, 
which  were  nearly  half  the  year,  or  from  June  to 
October. 

These  disagreeable  visitors  had  always,  during  this 
season,  to  be  considered.  Luckily,  with  a  good  baro- 
meter, their  approach  could  generally  be  foretold  by 
twenty-four  hours,  and  sometimes  by  double  that  time. 
In  June  1875,  for  instance,  I  knew  that  a  typhoon  was 
brewing  up,  and  in  consequence  got  into  a  snug  anchor- 
age beforehand.  The  place  I  was  in  was  perfectly 
safe;  being  landlocked  on  all  sides,  no  swell  could  even 
enter,  and  I  knew  that  the  wind  alone  was  what  I 
need  think  of. 

Towards  evening  it  was  blowing  very  hard  from  the 
eastward,  and  still  increasing;  by  midnight  the  force 
of  the  wind  during  the  gusts  was  simply  terrific.  I 
had  everything  well  secured  long  before  it  com- 
menced; the  boats  were  lashed  and  relashed,  so  that 
they  might  be  blown  to  pieces  but  they  could  not  pos- 
sibly be  entirely  taken  away.  Soon  afterwards  I 
went  to  get  some  rest  and  shelter  In  my  cabin,  leav- 
ing the  boatswain  in  charge  on  deck.  At  one  in  the 
morning  he  called  me,  and  reported  the  gun-boat  to 
be  drifting  on  the  rocks,  adding — 

*'I  never  saw  it  blow  like  this  before,  sir.  In  the 
thirty  years  I  have  been  at  sea." 

"What  are  you  doing  on  deck?"  I  asked. 

"Steaming  ahead  as  hard  as  we  can,  sir,  to  ease  the 
anchors  and  cables,  which  are  veered  to  the  clinch." 


THE  LAST  OF  THE  PIRATES  309 

"Very  well,"  I   replied;  "you  had  better  turn  the 
hands  up;  I  shall  be  on  deck  in  a  moment." 

On  reaching  the  gangway,  I  could  just  see  through 
the  thick  vapour  and  driving  sea  the  black  rocks  about 
thirty  yards  astern;  and  going  to  the  engine-room,  I 
gave  orders  to  go  ahead  as  fast  as  possible,  and  again 
returned  to  the  gun-boat's  side,  and,  holding  on,  sat 
down  to  watch  the  poor  little  craft  drifting  quietly 
but  surely  to  the  angry-looking  shore.     I  knew  that, 
the  water  being  smooth,  all  hands  were  perfectly  safe, 
as  far  as  their  lives  went,  and  that  the  only  thing  that 
could  happen  would  be  the  gun-boat's  driving  against 
the  rocks,  and  probably  knocking  a  hole  in  her  bottom. 
It  certainly  did  blow;  and  I  thought  if  the  weather- 
beaten  old  boatswain  had  ever  seen  much  more  wind, 
he  would  probably  have  been  taken  clean  off  the  face 
of   the   earth.     I   had  been   about  half-an-hour   thus 
musing  and  watching  the  rocks  getting  gradually  more 
distinct.     I  could  see  the  clefts,  and  almost  trace  their 
jagged  outline,   and  was  wondering  what  the  result 
would  be,  what  amount  of  damage  would  be  done  to 
the  gun-boat,  and  how  I  should  manage  to  get  back 
to  Hong-kong,   a  hundred   and  fifty  miles  off,  when 
suddenly  I  saw  the  little  vessel  was  moving  up  to  her 
anchors.      I  immediately  stopped  the  engines,  and  in 
less  than  ten  minutes  from  that  time  it  was  perfectly 
calm.     Both    anchors    were    at    once    weighed,    and 
steaming  out  to  the  centre  of  the  bay,  I  let  them  both 
go  to  the  westward,  veering  nearly  all  my  cable  out, 
and  keeping  steam  up  ready  to  move  the  engines  at 
any  moment.     The  wind  had  left  off  at  east  north- 
east.    In  an  hour  or  so  a  sound  like  steam  being  blown 


310  GRFAT  PIRATE  STORIES 

out  of  a  boiler  was  heard  to  the  westward,  and  imme- 
diately afterwards  the  gun-boat  was  struck  by  a 
furious  gust  from  that  direction,  from  which  quarter 
it  blew  for  some  hours  as  hard  as  ever,  the  barometer 
all  the  time  going  up.  i  he  centre  was,  however, 
past,  and  towards  noon  I  was  able  to  get  under  weigh 
and  proceed  on  my  journey. 

The  word  "Typhoon"  is  of  Chinese  derivation, 
and  means  "mother  of  winds," — a  very  good  and 
significant  designation.  I'yphoon,  cyclone,  and  hur- 
ricane are  all  synonymous  for  circular  storms  or  gales 
of  wind,  which,  in  my  opinion,  have  all  the  same 
origin,  and  all  the  same  purpose  to  fulfill, — the  resto- 
ration of  the  atmospheric  equilibrium,  which  has  be- 
come disturbed.  Doubtless  electricity  has  a  great 
deal  to  answer  for  in  connection  with  these  great  at- 
mospheric disturbances,  if  not  wholly  and  entirely 
responsible  for  them.  For  my  own  part,  I  believe 
typhoons,  cyclones,  etc.,  to  be  purely  electrical 
phenomena. 

I  have  mentioned  the  barometer  as  being  a  never- 
failing  guide.  I  consider  it,  in  fact,  the  greatest 
friend  a  sailor  has,  though  in  these  days  of  steam  it  is 
not  sufficiently  considered.  A  steamer,  for  instance, 
cuts  across,  goes  through  or  passes  the  storm's  course; 
she  is  independent  of  the  wind,  and,  consequently, 
changes  in  the  weather  are  less  watched  and  at- 
tended to. 

I  often  tried  to  ascertain  how  the  great  fleets  of 
fishing  junks,  which  everywhere  along  the  Chinese 
coast  are  found  working  away  diligently  at  all  seasons 
and  in  all  weathers,  knew  the  approach  of  a  typhoon; 


THE  LAST  OF  THE  PIRATES         311 

for  know  it  I  always  felt  sure  they  did,  first  from  the 
fact  that  so  few  are  lost  during  the  passage  of  these 
storms;  and  secondly,  because  I  had  frequently  seen 
them  getting  to  safe  harbours  well  before  the  typhoon 
had  commenced. 

One  answer  was  always  returned  to  my  queries  on 
this  point,  and  no  other;  and  this  was,  that  the  water 
always  got  thick  on  the  approach  of  a  storm.  When 
anchored  at  some  of  the  out-of-the-way  small  ports  on 
the  coasts,  often  full  of  merchant  junks,  besides  nu- 
merous fishing  craft  and  others,  the  masters  or  owners 
of  the  former,  particularly  if  trading  with  Hong-Kong 
or  some  of  the  open  ports,  frequently  came  on  board 
the  gun-boat  to  ask  me,  "What  that  thing  makie  talkie 
today?"  "that  thing"  being  my  barometer,  in  which 
they  showed  the  greatest  confidence. 

As  nearly  as  possible  one  hundred  miles  west  of 
Macao  is  a  large  island  called  Chang-chuen  in  Chinese, 
and  St.  John's  in  English.  Several  bays  run  deeply 
into  the  land,  cutting  the  island  up  considerably.  A 
few  small  villages  of  the  poorest  class  of  fishermen  or 
farmers  are  here  and  there  found.  A  very  miserable 
lot  of  people  these  villagers  are;  but  as  the  island  Is 
visited  by  none  but  pirates,  no  other  class  of  China- 
men would  care  to  live  there.  I  doubt  much  If  the 
Government  ever  knew  of  this  place.  It  was  a  very 
frequent  resort  of  mine  when  cruising  along  this  wild 
coast,  and  many  a  stroll  with  my  gun  have  I  enjoyed 
on  it,  always  managing  to  bag  a  few  partridges,  quail, 
or  pigeons.  One  day,  when  wandering  about  in  this 
way,  I  came  upon  a  large  flat  slab  of  stone,  almost 
concealed  by  grass  and  herbage.     A  great  rock  rose 


312  GREAT   PIRATE  STORIES 

close  to  It,  and  a  few  bushes  and  some  screw  pine 
plants  grew  near.  Thinking  it  rather  (juecr-looking 
and  tomb-like,  I  cleared  away  the  rough  grass,  and 
almost  the  first  thing  I  saw  were  two  words,  "Francis 
Xavier!"  Scraping  off  some  more  rubbish,  the  whole 
inscription  came  out  quite  clear.  Here,  then,  was  the 
spot  where  this  great  man  died.  A  more  out-of-the- 
way,  God-forsaken  sort  of  place  to  end  one's  days  on 
could  scarcely  be  found.  I  asked  some  Chinese  of  the 
half-dozen  wretched  huts  which  clustered  together  a 
short  distance  from  the  spot  what  they  knew  about  it. 
"Oh,"  they  said,  "one  big  priest  makie  die  there, 
a  long  time  since.  He  come  from  another  country; 
not  Chinaman,  but  very  good  man." 

My  friends  the  pirates  were  not  always  very  polite. 
I  knew,  of  course,  they  would  have  relished  getting 
hold  of  me.  Occasionally  they  managed  to  convey 
messages  such  as,  "We'll  skin  him";  "We'll  blow  him 
out  of  the  water,"  and  so  on.  The  latter  considerate 
inclination  came  so  decidedly  in  April  1866  that  I 
thought  they  really  might  mean  something,  and  the 
Admiral,  who  happened  to  be  in  port,  rather  reluc- 
tantly gave  me  permission  to  go  out.  He  was  at  first 
anxious  I  should  take  two  gun-boats,  but  I  knew  my 
only  chance  of  teaching  them  a  lesson  was  to  go  alone. 
Puckshui,  which  I  had  previously  burnt  to  the  ground, 
was  the  spot  these  bits  of  pleasantry  came  from,  and 
the  following  morning,  as  usual,  at  daylight  I  arrived 
there.  The  place  had  been  entirely  rebuilt.  My 
three  guns  were  loaded  and  run  out  on  one  side,  and 
steaming  in  I  anchored  abreast  the  battery.  But  not 
a  movement  of  course  was  made.     Seven  or  eight  long 


THE  LAST  OF  THE  PIRATES  313 

snake-boats  were  drawn  up  In  a  side  creek;  these  I  de- 
stroyed, and  landing  with  four  men,  the  inhabitants 
took  to  their  heels,  and  once  more  I  burnt  the  place 
to  the  ground. 

During  the  time  I  was  particularly  employed  in  look- 
ing after  pirates — about  eighteen  or  twenty  months — 
I  took  in  all  fifty-four  junks,  and  about  two  hundred 
prisoners.  As  for  the  number  of  guns,  and  people 
liberated,  I  hardly  know,  not  having  kept  any  regular 
list.  The  guns  were  all  of  good  manufacture,  most 
being  made  in  England,  the  others  in  Germany  or 
Belgium. 

At  the  time  I  speak  of,  Hong-Kong  was  a  hot-bed 
of  piracy  and  villany.  Chinamen  generally,  but  Can- 
tonese particularly — and  of  all  Chinamen  I  suppose 
there  are  no  greater  rascals — who  had  made  their  own 
country  too  hot  for  them,  congregated  on  this  rocky 
piece  of  English  soil  for  protection.  The  Chinese 
population  was  then  about  115,000.  Headmen  of 
pirate  gangs  resided  there,  and  piratical  junks  an- 
chored with  impunity  in  the  harbour;  they  used  actually 
to  have  the  coolness  to  come  to,  and  take  up  a  berth 
close  to  my  gun-boat,  but  usually  they  remained 
amongst  their  fellow-craft  at  the  other  end  of  the 
harbour.  An  English  brig,  or  schooner,  or  the  smal- 
lest, most  insignificant  craft  sailing  under  these 
vaunted  colours,  on  anchoring  in  this  English  port, 
was  at  once  boarded,  by  not  only  one  authority,  but  by 
two  or  three;  certainly  by  the  harbour-master  and  the 
guard-boat  of  some  man-of-war  at  anchor  in  the  port. 
She  had  to  sign  papers,  deliver  others,  and  generally 
give  an  account  of  herself,  her  whole  crew,  arms,  con- 


314  r.RFAT  PIRATK  STORIES 

tents,  and  other  items  being  entered  in  printed  forms. 
Possibly  her  crew  consisted  of  five  or  six  men,  the  cap- 
tain, and  a  boy,  and  she  may  have  had  a  couple  of 
small  swivel-guns  on  her  after-bulkhead.  A  junk,  or 
a  dozen  junks  coming  in,  were  never  even  looked  at. 
I  have  seen  these  vessels  come  sailing  along  in  sixes, 
or  more,  mounting  ten  or  twelve  guns  each,  and  with 
crews  of  forty  or  fifty  men,  large  enough  and  per- 
fectly able  to  take  the  finest  merchant  vessel  afloat. 
These  junks  were  not  pirates,  but  honest  traders,  or 
ostensibly  so;  but  honest  traders  were  by  no  means 
above  doing  a  bit  of  piracy  when  trade  was  slack. 
However,  this  is  not  the  point  of  my  remarks.  What 
I  objected  to  was  that  these  junks  should  come  and  go 
without  any  notice  whatever  being  taken  of  them, 
whereas  our  own  vessels  were  very  differently  treated; 
and  as  I  have  said  before,  pirates  were  often  anchored 
in  the  port,  which  seemed  a  queer  arrangement,  to  say 
the  least  of  it.  On  one  occasion  I  saw  a  small  Eng- 
lish vessel  leave  the  port,  and  a  fine  big  junk  follow 
her;  they  both  went  round  the  point  together  and  dis- 
appeared from  view.  Before  they  had  gone  very 
much  further,  our  countryman  was  attacked  and 
robbed,  I  believe  by  that  very  junk.  On  another  oc- 
casion, I  actually  took  a  pirate  junk  and  all  her  crew 
from  under  the  very  nose  of  one  of  our  police  stations, 
at  the  eastern  entrance  to  the  harbour.  All  these 
things  I  pointed  out  in  the  proper  quarter,  and  they 
have  been,  if  not  altogether,  to  a  great  extent,  recti- 
fied; junks  are  now  registered  and  numbered,  and 
Chinamen  prevented  from  entering  Hong-Kong  with- 
out a  passport. 


t 


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